The Tennessee Titans opened their locker room to media Wednesday as Week 1 preparation against the New York Jets kicks into full gear.

From Titans coach Robert Saleh’s update on LB Cedric Gray following a UTV accident over Labor Day weekend, to the revenge narrative swirling around Sunday’s opener, to a fascinating training room practice that may be unique to Tennessee, here’s what stood out from inside the facility:

Cedric Gray’s status after UTV accident

Saleh addressed Gray’s situation at the top of his press conference, and the update was about as positive as it could have been. Most relevant to the actual team, there’s a chance Gray could clear concussion protocol in time for Sunday’s game against the Jets. I saw him in the locker room myself: he had two hands, two feet, all toes and fingers intact, no visible cuts, bruises, or gaping wounds. He looked fine besides the concussion he’s working through.

Saleh’s handling of the topic was the perfect example of the middle ground he represents between Brian Callahan and Mike Vrabel before him. This is exactly the kind of topic a Vrabel would have basically pretended didn’t exist, annoying everyone. Callahan, on the other hand, would have been so open about it that people would wonder if he shared too much (a thing that I think is utterly ridiculous, but I digress).

Saleh lands somewhere in the middle. He didn’t BS anyone when we alluded to the fact that maybe Gray was doing something dumb. He was straightforward: yeah, I really wish that kind of thing wouldn’t happen, and it’s unfortunate. But he spun it toward the positive. It could have been so much worse, the team is glad Gray is okay, and he has a chance to play.

One quirk worth noting for those unfamiliar with the media rules: when a player is in concussion protocol, media can’t approach him. We have to pretend he’s a ghost. So we won’t get Gray’s own words until he clears.

The revenge game narrative (why guarding against it matters)

This brings us to the only question that really matters heading into Sunday, apparently : is this the revenge game the end all revenge games?

The Titans’ 2026 schedule has, frankly, too many different revenge spots week to week because of the roster turnover. But this one is the headliner. It’s Robert Saleh’s first game against the team that fired him nearly two years ago. It’s the first game back for basically half the defensive staff and several players with Jets ties. We keep asking these guys, hoping somebody will validate the idea that this is the end-all be-all revenge game to end all revenge games. They of course aren’t doing that, but there have been some telling answers.

Titans quarterback Cam Ward said at the podium that it wasn’t necessarily a bigger deal than a regular game, but admitted that he’d be lying if he said it didn’t want it a little bit more for our head coach because they know the history. Peter Skoronski alluded to the fact that he’s sure Saleh feels a certain way about it and that he would too in his shoes, but said he’s more worried about not losing another game as a Tennessee Titan, since that’s mostly what he’s done since he got here. Jeffrey Simmons waved it away. Jacob Martin took the angle earlier in the week that you can make any game a revenge game, and he does.

Here’s what we can say that we know for a fact: Robert Saleh has said and feels more about this Jets game than he has ever expressed at a Tennessee Titans press conference. He is juiced up, jacked up, ready to go out there and beat the team that let him go. He’s just not going to tell us to our faces in front of rolling cameras.

Solomon Thomas was more willing to go on the record with the Tennessean’s Nick Suss this week, talking about what sounded like a toxic dynamic between the Jets’ front office and coaching staff by the time Saleh was fired in the middle of the 2024 season. That piece is worth reading if you really want to hear somebody lean into the narrative.

But here’s the thing about this narrative: I think the meaning behind the team being coy about it is actually reasonable. If I’m a player or a coach, I do think you emotionally have to guard against putting too many eggs in the basket of this game and convincing yourself, the way a lot of fans foolishly have, that this is some must-win, end-all-be-all game. The Jets aren’t necessarily just the Jets of old. Everyone thinks their coach is as dead as you can possibly be and that their quarterback officially stinks after one terrible year, and that perception is doing a lot of heavy lifting for people who think New York is hopeless. I’d be careful with that assumption. More on that Friday morning on the A to Z Sports Morning Show…

Nissan Stadium’s final chapter and a locker room that … kinda doesn’t care!

We asked Skoronski if this last home opener in Nissan Stadium felt bittersweet today. His answer was blunt: not really. All he’s done is lose there. He hasn’t won a home opener ever. If you’re one of the newer or younger players on this roster, which is most of the locker room at this point, you probably hate Nissan Stadium! You’re probably counting the days until it’s gone.

I had a good Titans fan buddy text me about it and say he’d never thought about it that way. I responded: I have every sentimental connection to this place, and I still hate it. It’s our trash, Nissan Stadium. But it is, in fact, trash.

I was chatting with Amy Adams Strunk on the sideline during the blue and white scrimmage the other week, and I asked her the same question. She essentially said she’d be sad… until she set one foot into the new stadium, and then she’d move on very quickly. For what it’s worth, her daughter got married on that field. Amy Adams Strunk is about to blow up her own daughter’s wedding venue! Though I think it says something about the venue when you use the field, but bring in so much tent and wedding equipment to make it not feel like you’re in that stadium.

A Titans training method you’ve probably never heard of

Here’s something I don’t think you’re getting anywhere else, because I asked about it privately for the first time today. During practice this summer, we’ve noticed that the offensive and defensive linemen don’t come out to stretch with the rest of the team. The special teams guys stretch first and do their thing, and then the linemen appear later when the special teams period begins. They’re in the training room during that gap. I asked Saleh what they’re doing in there, and he gave me a far better answer than I expected.

It’s way more structured than just standing around. The linemen are in there getting… well, kind of slowly beaten up by the training staff. Saleh walked up to me and demonstrated, hitting my shoulder, then my elbow. The trainers are knocking every joint: shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, hips. Not full-blown hitting them, not love-tapping them either. Somewhere in between, deliberately knocking on every joint to callus them before full contact.

I asked if there was science behind it. Saleh said yes, that there are studies showing callusing the joints this way before contact is really helpful. I asked where he learned it and whether anyone else in the NFL does it. He said he thinks the Titans are the only team in the league doing it, and they got it from rugby. He couldn’t even remember the name of the technique in the moment.

I’m going to dig into this more tomorrow. There will be an article on that soon. Stay tuned!