The preseason is here for the Titans and with it the questions of who exactly we will see on the field against the Atlanta Falcons Friday night.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel has held back many of his starters like Derrick Henry, AJ Brown, Ben Jones and Harold Landry so far in camp so it is hard to believe we will see much if any from the bulk of them.
Those players probably do not need the preseason either, however, last years’ rookies did not get a preseason so there are plenty of players looking forward to this opportunity for live action.
“It’s nice to do all of this in practice but it has to translate to the game.” said cornerback Breon Borders, “Just like my workouts over the summer had to translate to camp. You know, my camp reps have to translate to the game. So I’m excited to play against the receivers, to get those reps.”
Running back Darrynton Evans did not get many reps during his rookie campaign in 2020. The preseason was canceled due to Covid and he missed most of the season with hamstring problems. Evans could see a decent work load in Atlanta and sounds excited to do it, “It’s the opportunity. You’re on TV for one. National TV, my family can see me play different things like that its way bigger than we’ve got the whole Titans organization and their fans and stuff.”
It is still an NFL game, an NFL uniform, the lights will be on and for a lot of guys a dream come true. Veteran safety Kevin Byard says the young guys have to keep it simple, “Going out there, having fun and playing ball. Don’t get too caught up on man I’m in an NFL stadium, man those are guys I played with on madden, you’re out there for a reason and if coaches or if the NFL didnt feel like you didn’t belong, you wouldn’t be out here so just go out there, have fun, play fast and just go out there and compete as hard as you can.”
The preseason is not the regular season, but there is something uniquely special about it. The preseason is opportunity and Boders knows it, “yeah man I’m salivating, I’m not established in the league yet. I’m still building, I’m still climbing so I’m salivating at my chance to get to play.”
The Titans visit the Falcons Friday at 6 PM in a game you can watch on WKRN News 2.
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