Carnell Tate misses Titans OTA practice: update on first round pick, and other wide receivers step up in his absence
The Tennessee Titans were back on the practice field for another voluntary OTA session Tuesday and rookie WR Carnell Tate wasn’t participating. Other receivers stepped up in his absence.
Carnell Tate has been the talk of Tennessee Titans OTA practices the first three weeks, until he did not participate Tuesday for the first time. Two other receivers had nice days filling the void, notably Chim Dike and Xavier Restrepo.
From the vibes surrounding practice there didn’t seem to be any worry. According to Nick Suss, of the Tennessean, there’s no large concern moving forward.
In Monday’s practice Tate made a leaping catch for a long touchdown from QB Cam Ward. I noticed some contact with defensive backs on the down while making the catch. I didn’t notice Tate getting any reps the red zone periods that ended practice. Suss shared his notes from Monday’s practice which had Tate with another catch after the TD, but before the red zone periods.
I made an internal note to Easton Freeze Monday afternoon for us to keep any eye on if Tate was on the field Tuesday. Now we’ll see if Tate does return for Thursday’s OTA or next week’s mandatory minicamp.
Chim Dike steals the highlights in Carnell Tate’s absence
Second year weapon Chim Dike looked like he was out to prove the segment of the internet wrong that he’s “just a return man” in Tuesday’s session.
Dike moved up the chain without Tate getting reps and with veteran Calvin Ridley still not participating after individual position drills. He took advantage of the opportunity with three big catches from three different Titans quarterbacks.
- Ward ripped a sideline pass between zone defenders about 20 yards downfield. Dike made a very skillful catch and made sure he danced the sideline to get his feet inbounds.
- Will Levis threw a 60 yard bomb down the left sideline in a perfect spot for the wide open Dike who left rookie corner Jeadyn Lukus out of sight and walked in to the end zone.
- Mitch Trubisky found Dike in the corner of the end zone in the last period of practice when the offense was working in the ‘green area’ inside the 40 yard line. The TD catch was roughly 15 yards, but followed a catch from Dike the play before.
Xavier Restrepo stacks days
I made a quick note on our Monday practice recap video about how solid Ward’s college receiver from Miami looked. Restrepo did it again Tuesday. He’s looks comfortable playing the slot receiver role in Brian Daboll’s offense, behind free agent signing Wan’Dale Robinson.
Ward had a particularly rough day, but he finished strong, in part by tossing a great ball to his college buddy Restrepo for a roughly 20 yard score.