Titans Preseason Notebook: Xavier Restrepo & James Proche battle, a defensive relief, 53-man roster clues from Titans-Falcons

Two preseason games down, one to go. The Tennessee Titans finished their 10-day road trip in Atlanta Friday night with a 23-20 victory against the Atlanta Falcons, and roster cutdown day is looming large. With just five practices and one preseason game left for each player to prove their worth, I dove into some of […]

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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Two preseason games down, one to go. The Tennessee Titans finished their 10-day road trip in Atlanta Friday night with a 23-20 victory against the Atlanta Falcons, and roster cutdown day is looming large. With just five practices and one preseason game left for each player to prove their worth, I dove into some of the tape from Atlanta to distinguish what does and doesn’t matter from Preseason Week 2. Here we go:

The Game Is Slowing Down For Cedric Gray

The game is slowing down for Cedric Gray. He’s really come along in the past week or two, pushing fellow second-year LB James Williams for the starting linebacker role alongside Cody Barton.

While I would still call Williams the starter today, Gray is starting to look like the 2024 fourth-round rookie we didn’t get to see much of last year. Here’s what coach Brian Callahan had to say about Gray when asked if he agrees the game is slowing down for him:

“He’s sure playing that way. He’s diagnosing quicker. He’s reacting faster. He’s making plays in the backfield which usually tells you that things are slowing down. He’s seeing what he needs to see and reacting in the proper time. That blitz was an indicator of what Ced (Cedric Gray) does. He just tries to run through guys’ face— which, part of that, you like to see. He did it in Tampa Bay in practice. He’s an effective blitzer. He’s hard for backs to block because of his physicality, and that’s the type of tone we want to set defensively. So that was really a positive step for him, and to do it in a game— big sack, it’s always good to see. He’s played well and I’m happy with where he’s at and he’s got to keep going.”

Gray and Williams play pretty differently. Williams is a former safety who operates well in space. Gray is a Bullet Bill from Mario Kart who wants to get downhill and crush people. If only they could be combined, they’d make a fantastic composite player. But with both of them in the LB room alongside Cody Barton, that position is so much less worrisome today than it was a month ago.

Xavier Restrepo & James Proche: Battle For WR7

Let’s start with everybody’s favorite UDFA, Xavier Restrepo. He caught both of his targets Friday night for 18 yards. He got more run in this second preseason game due to veterans resting at the top of the WR depth chart. In Tampa Bay, he played just 11 snaps. His best catch this week involved a nice move to get upfield for a first down late in the game:

The reality for Restrepo is that, despite all his success in college, he’s just lacking in speed and length at the next level. He’ll continue to develop, and his breakout could come. But in terms of the competition for the WR7 spot, should it exist, he’s had his lunch money taken by James Proche.

In a couple of weeks, panic will ensue for a matter of hours between when Restrepo is cut and when he lands safely on the Titans’ practice squad. We always think the best receiver who doesn’t make the cut will get claimed, and they basically never do. I think he’ll stick around in Tennessee for now.

Then, there’s the guy who “took” his spot. I’ve got to apologize to Proche, because I wasn’t familiar with his game. I counted him out. I thought his only path to making this roster was as the emergency punt returner option. But he’s been impressive in his capacity as a receiver all camp long. He’s played his way onto this team already, if you ask me.

His coaches are pleased with what he’s shown them. By making him the seventh receiver, I believe he’ll be the starting punt returner by default. Speaking of punt return, let’s talk about a niche question many of you have been asking all week long…

Why They Keep Putting Jha’Quan Jackson Out There

Why in the world do the Titans keep rolling Jha’Quan Jackson out there to return punts?

It’s something they’ve done all week, and people keep wondering why. The 2024 sixth-round draft pick stands no chance of making the active roster at this point, and so it’s fair to ask: why not give these reps to those actually competing for the active role?

Well, I’ve done some digging and rewatched the game to get the answer. As is often the case with these things, it’s not that deep: somebody has to return punts.

With Proche tracking to make the team, he’s basically expected to get the job at this point. That’s why he was out there on the first, third, and fifth punts of this game. The only other player who has a shot of making the active roster that’s “in” this competition is rookie Chimere Dike. They see dual-returner upside with him, and he’s getting some run at both spots. But in Friday’s game, he played offense most of the first half (22 snaps) and then got some run on special teams in the second half. That’s why he was the returner on the sixth punt of the game.

That leaves two punts for somebody to return, so they rolled Jackson out there to handle the second and fourth opportunities because he can do it. That’s the situation as I understand it.

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