Two key defenders skipping Titans OTAs
The Titans completed their second day of organized team activities (OTAs) on Tuesday. After practice, head coach Mike Vabrel confirmed that Kevin Byard and Kristian Fulton were absent. Kevin Byard has been in the news with various stories about his contract issues with the team. Earlier this offseason, Titans general manager Ran Carthon confirmed that he approached […]
The Titans completed their second day of organized team activities (OTAs) on Tuesday. After practice, head coach Mike Vabrel confirmed that Kevin Byard and Kristian Fulton were absent.
Kevin Byard has been in the news with various stories about his contract issues with the team. Earlier this offseason, Titans general manager Ran Carthon confirmed that he approached Kevin Byard with a request to take a pay cut. Byard understandably turned down the request. Carthon added that Byard never requested a trade or release following the ask. Byard typically makes it to OTAs, so there seems to be a strong chance his absence is related to these contract issues. In his post-practice presser, Vabrel said he had a productive conversation with Byard, which hopefully means the situation will resolve itself soon.
The reason for Fultons' absence is slightly more in question, but you can also tie it to his contract situation. Fulton is in the last year of his rookie deal and is slated to make $1.3 million this season.
Fulton may believe he is underpaid and deserves a contract extension. While I think Fulton is a very talented player, I would not expect him to get an extension this offseason. He missed six games last season and has only played in a total of 30 out of a possible 50 career games. If Fulton can stay healthy and have a productive season, it would make sense for the Titans to bring him back next year. However, he needs to prove he can do that first, and the Titans should be in no rush to hand over more money.
While it is too early to freak out over either situation, both are worth watching as we get closer to training camp.
