How Treylon Burks' injury impacted Tennessee Titans — and other joint-practice observations
EAGAN, Minn. — Treylon Burks went down, but the Tennessee Titans had to keep on going.
The Titans' first joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings was overshadowed Wednesday by the injury to Burks, the second-year receiver the Titans picked in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Midway through 11-on-11 team periods, Burks streaked open down the middle of the field and broke open to catch a touchdown pass, but he went to the ground after the catch and rolled forward, causing him to grab at the back of his left leg behind his knee and between the hamstring and calf areas.
Burks was carted off the field and into the training room minutes later and did not return. But practice still went on.
With Burks out, the Titans' first-string receivers mainly consisted of DeAndre Hopkins and Kyle Philips with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Chris Moore filling the third position. The first-team offense ran eight plays in a two-minute drill at the end of the practice with quarterback Ryan Tannehill completing passes Hopkins, Philips, Moore and running back Tyjae Spears and two passes to tight end Chig Okonkwo. That drive ended with kicker Caleb Shudak missing a 54-yard kick into stiff winds that reached around 20 mph.
The severity of Burks' injury wasn't immediately clear, but any missed time will force the Titans to utilize some less experienced receivers. Rookie seventh-round pick Colton Dowell and 2021 draft pick Racey McMath are the Titans' only receivers bigger than 6-foot tall other than Burks, Hopkins, Moore and Westbrook-Ikhine. Undrafted players Reggie Roberson Jr., Kearis Jackson, Tre'Shaun Harrison and Gavin Holmes all profile as slot players, as does perennial practice squad receiver Mason Kinsey.
The couple of periods after Burks' injury were so brief that it was tough to sense any change in the Titans' philosophy or substitution habits. But if Burks is absent from practice Thursday, it'll be interesting to see whether any of the Titans' smaller receivers get more opportunities or whether Moore, Westbrook-Ikhine and McMath use their experience to step into Burks' position as a bigger-bodied outside target.
Here are more of The Tennessean's observations from practice Wednesday:
Tennessee Titans vs. Minnesota Vikings joint practice observations: Aug. 16
Burks' injury is going to overshadow everything that happened Wednesday, which is a shame for the Titans' defense. The Titans stood strong against quarterback Kirk Cousins, All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson and the potent Vikings passing offense. Nowhere was this more evident than in the two-minute drill periods to end practice. The Titans' first-team defense intercepted Cousins on his second snap when edge rusher Arden Key hurried Cousins into a throw and cornerback Roger McCreary stepped in front of an out-breaking route to end the threat. And the Titans' second-team defense intercepted backup quarterback Nick Mullens on his second snap when a vicious pass rush flustered Mullens, leading to a pass that was tipped by edge defender Sam Okuayinonu and intercepted by fellow edge defender Rashad Weaver. Four plays, two turnovers, zero progress for either unit of the Vikings' offense.
Prior to the two-minute drills, the defense held its own against the Vikings' passing and rushing threats. The Titans' defensive line stopped Vikings running backs behind the line of scrimmage multiple times and, led by cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting's coverage of Jefferson, the secondary didn't allow any deep shots to beat them over the top.
The first-team offense didn't have as much success as the starters on defense. Tannehill was 7-for-9 passing in 7-on-7 drills and 5-for-6 in 11-on-11 drills prior to Burks' injury, but nearly all of those completions were on short timing patterns within 5 to 10 yards of the line of scrimmage or on screens or dump-offs to running backs. Tannehill absorbed at least two coverage sacks and could've been whistled down for a sack at least one more time in the 11-on-11 period.
Derrick Henry and the running game didn't do much more against the Vikings' top defense. Henry and Spears each had one carry that might've broken free had the practice been full contact and they were allowed to power through defenders, but for the most part the Vikings did a good job of closing off running lanes and limiting Henry and Spears to modest gains, or no gain at all.
Backup quarterback Malik Willis continued his ascent from struggling rookie to quality passer in his second training camp. He went 4-for-4 passing in 7-on-7 drills, including a deep touchdown up the seam to Dowell and a deep completion on a long crossing route to Jackson. He followed that up by completing both of his pass attempts prior to Burks' injury in 11-on-11 and started 4-for-4 in his two-minute drill before back-to-back pressures left the offense out of field goal range with no timeouts and not enough time to run a Hail Mary. The first pressure came off Willis' left side and led to an incompletion. The second came off the right edge and resulted in a sack.
In addition to Burks, linebacker Luke Gifford and defensive lineman Denico Autry both left practice on their own power at various points Wednesday, but neither injury looked serious.
Joint practices are notorious for opposing teams getting the opportunity to scrap, claw and fight against each other. No fights broke out Wednesday, but there was at least one moment when Titans cornerback Kristian Fulton jawed with Vikings receiver Trishton Jackson. The two were practicing a special teams gunner drill where they have to keep track of each other 30 or 40 yards downfield with one in a full sprint and the other in a backpedal. After the whistle blew, Fulton and Jackson got in each other's faces and stared each other down for a few seconds, but tensions didn't escalate.
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Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Treylon Burks injury shifted Tennessee Titans WR plans vs. Vikings
