Tennessee Titans training camp day 2 brought some news fans have been waiting for: starting RT JC Latham is off the physically unable to perform list (PUP).

Head coach Robert Saleh told reporters before practice Thursday that the former 7th overall pick would begin working his way back into team activities, with the hope of being fully integrated into practice by Saturday 

The Titans don’t get into pads until Monday, and they have three more practices in a row before then. If things go well for Latham over these first couple of days, the hope is that he’ll be available to speak with the media by Saturday as well. But that’s not all that Saleh said about his pivotal young tackle.

Saleh praises Latham’s offseason commitment

Beyond the PUP update, Saleh had positive things to say about where Latham stands physically heading into 2026.

“JC’s worked his tail off, man. Like, I know he had a little setback at the end of OTAs with the pec, but give him credit, he stayed here the entire summer. He’s worked relentlessly to get that thing back to the strength he’s needing. He’s had a really, really good weight to— he’s at a really, really good weight to allow him to have foot speed,” Saleh said.

This has been a focal point for Latham since entering the NFL. He came in as one of the heavier tackles drafted as high as he was, and a big conversation about him pre- and post-draft was whether he’d be able to hang footspeed-wise as a tackle at this level. He did it in college, but that body type on paper is the kind you often see bump inside to guard because of the foot speed required to match edge rushers in the NFL.

But Latham was drafted 7th overall to play tackle despite his weight and height because of the rare, God-given athleticism he possesses. He carries his weight well.

This time last year, Latham came into camp having cut quite a bit of weight that he admittedly did not think was helping him at the end of his rookie year. That cut weight allowed him to be even faster than he was coming out of college. But toward the end of training camp, he suffered a hip strain that kept him out of some important late-camp practices. The Titans tried to get him back into the rotation in Denver for the season opener, but he aggravated the hip mid-game and missed a significant portion of the early season. He ended up coming back a little earlier than he, in hindsight, admitted he probably should have.

It took him a while to get back to form for the back half of the year, and by then, nobody was paying attention.

Why I think Titans fans are wrong about Latham

That whole saga is part of the reason why I disagree with many fans pretty strongly on the JC Latham front. What I saw down the stretch last year was a guy who is a starting NFL-caliber tackle, someone who looks like he can earn a big contract here and be the tackle you lean on without needing a whole lot of help once he stabilizes his game. 

But by that point, when he and Dan Moore were both healthy and playing, the Titans were a team nobody cared anything about. So nobody was paying attention.

Saleh’s statements reflect what I see in Latham. He continued:

“The man doesn’t have a weight problem. He like, he holds it really well. He’s got a lot of lean muscle mass. He looks really, really good, but he understands that he doesn’t need to be as big. The bigger you are, the less foot speed you have. And he’s attacked the heck out of it. And I’m really excited for the season that he’s going to have. That’s something he said he kind of struggled with. His foot speed, kind of the weight management, for lack of a better term, playing a weight, playing at a weight that’s comfortable,” Saleh said.

When asked about whether the team has a plan for keeping Latham on track once the season begins, Saleh acknowledged the challenge. After all, last year Latham entered this portion of the offseason right where you’d want him, only for things to come off the tracks when things started to matter. The hip wasn’t his fault, but it’s something you have to worry about with any big man.

“These kids come in, they’re learning how to be professional, they’re on their own. And the thing with JC, like, he’s blessed, man. I mean, he looks at a weight and he gains 5 pounds of muscle. It’s fascinating. The guy is an incredibly gifted human. He’s just got to be conscientious that, you know, like every extra— he doesn’t need all that weight. He’s already going to— at 340, he’s going to push people around. At 350, he’s going to push people around. So he doesn’t need the 360s and the 370s, you know. He needs to focus more on foot speed, and I think he recognizes that. And like I said, he’s attacked the heck out of it. Really, really excited about where he’s at.”

Patience is often a requirement for young tackles coming into the NFL. It’s one of the positions where guys sometimes take the longest to really come into their own.

I’m not saying it’s a sure thing he’s going to continue with the momentum he built down the stretch last year when nobody was watching. I’m not guaranteeing he’s the tackle of the future for this team. But based on what I saw last year, he has every bit of that potential in him. If he maintains his health and maintains his focus, I don’t think there’s any reason why he can’t be a big-time tackle for Tennessee going forward.

Saleh closed the Latham portion of his press conference with a fitting sentiment:

“You know, a lot of these young men, they come in here with expectations. He’s a first-round pick and the game is way different than college. And so there’s a maturation that takes place too, and a confidence that he’ll continue to gain. And as he grows as an individual and as a player, he’ll get better.”