When the Tennessee Titans travel to Hard Rock Stadium to take on the Miami Dolphins on Monday night, it will be linebacker David Long’s first game against his old team since leaving in free agency this past offseason.
Long was a very good player for the Titans, ascending from a sixth-round pick and backup to an effective starter over his four seasons with the team.
The issue, however, was Long’s ability to stay healthy. After the 2022 season, he was called out specifically by head coach Mike Vrabel as one of the team’s “repeat offenders” with soft-tissue injuries.
It isn’t clear if the Titans simply didn’t try to re-sign Long or if he chose to leave, but a few months after Vrabel’s comment, the linebacker signed in Miami, where he inked a two-year, $10 million deal.
After signing with the Dolphins, Long said he had an even bigger chip on his shoulder thanks to the narrative Vrabel’s comment created.
“If you watch film since my rookie year to the end of this year, every play, I lay it out on the line,” Long said in March, per John Glennon of Nashville Post. “So that was a surprise to me. I feel like it kind of created a narrative a little bit as far as how I take care of my body. If you ask anybody, I’m a first one in and last guy out type of guy. So I know he knows that as well.
“It really just put a bigger chip [on my shoulder] because I know what type of player I am. That wasn’t discussed to me, as well. So it was a lot. I took it with a grain of salt. I’m not really much a media person like ‘Why did you single me out?’ or whatever. I’m going to roll with it and I’m just going to get back to work.”
So far, Long’s time with the Dolphins has been a success. He hasn’t missed a single game and he’s the highest-graded run defender in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.
When asked if he has extra motivation in playing his former team this week, Long admitted he does.
“Yeah, a little bit, a little bit,” Long said during the week, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “But [Titans head coach Mike Vrabel] knows the type of player I am. He knows what he’s going to get and I plan to deliver that.”
Vrabel tried to clarify his comment on Long when asked about it in the week leading up to the Week 14 contest.
“No, I’m not going to go back — answering questions about injuries,” Vrabel said. “I’m just pointing out that when you list all the injuries, that some of those guys had the same injury. They came back and had the same injury.
“I really enjoyed my time with David. Loved coaching him, I’m excited to see him. I’m happy for him. Of course, I’m happy for him… However it was phrased or said, it was the same injury. The guy was trying to come back and had the same injury and couldn’t play. So that was, I guess, the answer.”
Extra motivation or not, Vrabel knows Long will make things more difficult for his offense on Monday, especially in the run game.
“He persevered here and he’s gone down and got a new opportunity,” Vrabel said. “David’s been active. He runs around, he’s instinctive, he triggers, and we’ll have to block him. We’ll have to block him if we want to run the football.”