Titans Training Camp Takeaways: Keldric Faulk has injury scare while three young offensive linemen separate themselves
Carnell Tate sat out Wednesday, Wan’Dale Robinson kept piling up catches and three young linemen separated themselves ahead of Friday’s joint practice against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Tennessee Titans held their 12th training camp practice Wednesday in front of fans at Vanderbilt Health Football Center, and it was a day of notable tidbits with one more tune-up before the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks arrive for joint practice Friday.
That session should be a significant test for this roster in front of what figures to be a raucous crowd.
The Titans all cooled off with a full-team ALS ice bucket challenge for team legend Chris Johnson and longtime heart and soul of the franchise, Tim Shaw, who was in attendance.
Here’s what stood out from the field.
Injury updates on Carnell Tate and Keldric Faulk
On the injury front, there’s some news worth discussing. Tennessee wide receiver Carnell Tate, who took a hard hit at the end of Monday’s practice and was reported by Paul Kaharsky to be expected to be fine, did not practice Wednesday. All indications I have heard are that Tate will be fine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Titans simply held him out to keep him fresh for Friday’s joint practice, which carries more weight than a standard camp session.
The more concerning development came when rookie defensive end Keldric Faulk went down with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. Per the Buck Reising radio broadcast, which has a balcony view over the field better than we have down at field level, it looked like trainers may have been trying to pop the shoulder back into place based on the way they were working on him. Faulk walked inside and did not look particularly comfortable. That’s something to monitor closely as the week progresses.
Wan’Dale Robinson keeps stacking catches
On the playing front, Wednesday served as another periodic reminder that Wan’Dale Robinson is going to catch a bunch of passes this season. Robinson hauled in at least five balls by my count, with more than that in terms of targets. The Titans are utilizing him heavily in the tempo timing passing game, much the way we saw from him in New York.
No matter what we see from Tate and wide receiver Calvin Ridley with their higher ceilings and more explosive downfield potential, Robinson is going to be a safety blanket for the quarterback and a staple of offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s offense, where he already has experience in the system. He gets open for those 2, 3, 4, 5-plus yard gains that help keep the offense on time and operate almost as run solutions in a way. At the very least, his role in this offense looks secure and significant.
Offensive line competition settling in
There was also an update on the offensive line, where things seem to be settling competition-wise. Veteran Cordell Volson continues to trend in the wrong direction. I’d have him on the cut line at this point, because rookie Fernando Carmona continues to get work alongside right tackle JC Latham on the right side of the line.
Beyond the starting spots, the Titans have been interchanging a pair of players who appear to be competing for the primary rotational jobs. Jackson Slater has been moving between both guard and center positions, sometimes shifting around play to play to keep him on his toes mentally. Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, meanwhile, has been stepping in as a 1A/1B option for some of the starters against top competition, getting stress-tested against the best defensive line talent to see what he can handle.
Until further notice, things are trending toward Carmona winning the starting right guard job. Slater looks like the immediate backup to all three interior offensive line positions, functioning as that Swiss Army knife type of player you rely on in a pinch. And Crenshaw-Dixon is being tested as the Titans’ young swing tackle who could also prove useful when called upon. The next few days, especially Friday’s joint practice against Seattle, should tell us even more about where this group stands heading into the final preseason stretch.
