Former Titan says Mike Vrabel created a negative narrative about him
Former Tennessee Titans linebacker David Long Jr. calls out Mike Vrabel for “creating a narrative” about his habits.
In his introductory press conference with the Miami Dolphins, former Tennessee Titans inside linebacker David Long Jr. expressed frustration with Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.
Long took exception to Vrabel's comments from his end-of-season press conference in which Vrabel singled out Long, as well as defensive back Kristian Fulton for their recurring soft tissue injuries.
"We look at soft tissue injuries. We look at those soft tissue injuries of repeat offenders," said Vrabel in January. "It doesn't take too hard to look and see that Kristian Fulton and David Long were repeat offenders of soft tissue injuries. They have to figure out a way to train. The game is played at a high speed. Kevin Byard has not pulled a hamstring since we have been here. There is a durability factor to playing professional football that we should not overlook. That is real. There are guys that are durable and there are guys that are not."
Long told Dolphins columnist Chris Perkins that being called out by Vrabel caught him by surprise, adding that it was "unfortunate it created a narrative about how he takes care of his body" and that it would only add to the chip on his shoulder.
"If you watch film since my rookie year to this year, every play I lay it down on the line. That was a surprise to me, it created a narrative," said Long on Wednesday.
There's no denying that injuries have been an ongoing issue for Long. He has missed 12 games over the last two seasons. But it's clear that Long disagrees with Vrabel's assessment of the reason for his injury history.
While Vrabel suggested it has to do with Long's offseason training habits, Long told Titans media when we spoke to him on clean out day that "the ball just didn't roll his way."
"It was very tough," Long said about his missed time. "I put the work in all offseason to hopefully end the season healthy and the ball didn't roll my way this year. I feel like the time I was on the field, I gave it my all, so I can't really be mad."
When I spoke with Long back in January, he sounded very much like a man who intended to be back in Nashville for 2023. He regularly referred to the future of the Titans as something he wanted to be a part of.
But Vrabel's comments, which were made less than an hour after I spoke to Long, very clearly drove a wedge between the two sides. It seems that the disagreements over Long's injuries would later impact his free agent negotiations with the Titans.
Shortly after the legal tampering period opened, Long tweeted about being mistreated by Tennessee. "You would’ve thought I tore my ACL the way they treating me," Long said in a tweet on March 14th.
Long was in agreement with the Miami Dolphins on a contract later that day, while the Titans signed Azeez Al-Shaair to serve as Long's replacement.
Whether Vrabel was right about Long remains to be seen. If the 26-year-old linebacker continues to have issue staying on the field in 2023, Vrabel's concerns were probably for good reason.
Either way, Tennessee got a very strong replacement for Long in Al-Shaair.
Image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
