Making sense of Titans-Vikings joint practices – and the edge I give Tennessee | Estes

During Tennessee Titans training camp, Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes is keeping a regular journal of tidbits, thoughts and insights from practices. Here's the latest from the road:

EAGAN, Minn. – By now, Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill knows all about joint practices. Why they matter – and how, ultimately, they won't at all.

To illustrate, he brought up 2015. That preseason, his ex – the Miami Dolphins – visited the Carolina Panthers.

“It felt like we had really good practices, kind of dominated those practices,” Tannehill said. “And we fired a coach (Joe Philbin) after Week 4, and they went 15-1 and to the Super Bowl. …

“You want to take advantage of these but not read too much into them.”

So there’s your disclaimer before I get into how well I thought the Titans fared in a pair of practices this week with the Minnesota Vikings.

I’d judge it as the Titans getting the better of the two days. Wednesday’s practice, for sure. Thursday’s practice seemed like more of a toss-up if not slightly to the Vikings. But it wasn’t a bad day for the Titans, either.

End of the day, these practices with the Vikings didn’t reveal anything about the 2023 Titans as much as they advanced training-camp storylines that already existed.

My biggest concern continues to be the offensive line and pass protection. That showed up Thursday. The Vikings’ Danielle Hunter, in particular, gave Titans tackles all they could handle – which is what Danielle Hunter does. Quarterbacks were hurried and had to escape the pocket. Same thing that’s been happening in Nashville.

Meanwhile, the Titans' defense had a good showing in Minnesota: Stopping the run, rushing the passer, tight coverage in the secondary. All that had been happening in Nashville, too.

“They did a great job,” Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said of the Titans prior to Thursday’s practice. “They were No. 1 against the run last year for a reason, and I thought they did a nice job in man coverage. It was a tough test for us and great work for us.”

Cousins, like Tannehill, has been around long enough to know the drill with joint practices. He explained that they can be a juggling act between scheming to beat an opponent that day versus wanting to work out kinks to better prepare for the regular season.

“A couple of times,” Cousins said, “coach said to me, 'Hey, what play do you want on third down?' And I say, 'Well, do you want to win the play or do you want to get ready for Week 1? Because there's some plays that I need work at that I may not say are my favorite right now, but I need the work. If you want to win the play, I'll give you a play I already know and don't really need to practice and we can win that play.’”

Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who spent much of practice on the field with his offense, said the Titans also did “a little bit of both” with their offensive calls Thursday – working on themselves versus scheming for the Vikings.

In that way, it's still a practice. Even if it's a highly entertaining one.

“Joint practices are phenomenal. I love them,” Titans cornerback Kristian Fulton said. “The competition is there. The energy is there. That’s not something you get in the preseason.”

Extra points from Titans-Vikings joint practices

1. You’ll hear about Titans defensive lineman Teair Tart’s ejection from practice Thursday for throwing a punch, but truthfully, there wasn’t much post-play scuffling between these teams compared to many joint practices. That speaks to the restraint of these two teams, because these were physical practices. They weren’t tackling to the ground, but that did happen at times just because of the effort. In other words, the “thuds” really were thuds, especially on run plays between the tackles. Yes, even for Derrick Henry.

2. If you haven’t, check out the video of Fulton’s one-handed interception Thursday. It was a heck of a play by a cornerback who is putting together a stellar preseason – including this week against his old LSU teammate, Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson.

“I want to be one of the best,” Fulton said. “To do that, you've got to go against the best. He showed up this week. I showed up this week. We both made plays on each other. It was fun.”

3. The Vikings went 2-for-2 on touchdowns in hurry-up drills at the end of Thursday’s practice. (Cousins made it look easy, too. Must have been some plays he liked). This was a notable rebound after the Vikings had thrown interceptions on both drives Wednesday. The Titans countered with a touchdown drive directed by Tannehill before Malik Willis had a desperation throw picked off in the end zone.

4. Quarterback Will Levis’ late exit Thursday was a bit of a surprise, as he'd gone through most of the practice, and it wasn’t clear what happened to him. It’d be a shame if Levis can’t play in Saturday’s preseason game, as those are valuable opportunities for a rookie quarterback.

5. After Treylon Burks’ injury scare Wednesday, the next receiver up Thursday was a familiar and reliable name. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine stepped up and made a few grabs in practice, including one play in which the shotgun snap was low and Tannehill had to field it and only heave it deep in the hopes his receiver would be able to make something happen on a jump ball. Westbrook-Ikhine did, leaping above Akayleb Evans for what might have been the Titans’ longest gain of the afternoon.

6. Staying with receivers, Kyle Philips hasn’t had as show-stopping a training camp as he did in 2022, but he still has his moments. During 1-on-1s near the goal line Thursday, he got some oohs-and-ahs with his footwork, juking a Vikings DB for a touchdown. A few minutes later, he turned and contorted to make a catch near the back of the end zone. The referee ruled him off of bounds. I was standing on the line and disagreed. So did Philips, which was apparent as he briefly peered disbelievingly at the official.

Latest from Minnesota: Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel gives an update on Treylon Burks' injury

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7. I’ll give a shout-out to rookie tight end Josh Whyle. He had a nice day Thursday, making a few tough catches. Whyle didn’t have the best preseason game in Chicago, but his role appears to be increasing in practice. He could be important for an offense that is thin at tight end.

8. Inside linebacker Monty Rice has been sidelined from practice lately. I’d imagine that hasn’t been good for his chances to win a starting spot ahead of Jack Gibbens and company.

9. And finally, former Vanderbilt pitcher and Nashville-area product Sonny Gray – who plays for the Minnesota Twins – was on hand for Thursday’s practice as a Titans fan. He was tracked down by the industrious Jim Wyatt, writer for the Titans’ official website.

“This is really cool,” Gray told Wyatt. “It worked out perfect that the Titans are up here.”

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans-Vikings joint practices: Unpacking a hard-hitting week