NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Voluntary no more.
The Titans minicamp is officially mandatory which means veterans we have yet to see this offseason returned to the practice field – namely, the entire defensive front.
Our News 2’s Cory Curtis reported on Monday that Jeffery Simmons was back in the building, but he was not a participant in practice on Tuesday. Mike Vrabel characterized his status as “unavailable.”
However, the guys who were involved say they’re ready to take last year’s impressive performance and crank it up a notch.
“I’m just beyond excited to get out there and get in some game action with my boys on the front,” said outsdie linebacker Harold Landry. “We just got to keep improving. You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse and each day we just have to focus on coming out there and getting better, and I think the sky’s the limit for us.”
The starting front of Harold Landry, Bud Dupree, Denico Autry and Jeffery Simmons combined for 32.5 sacks in 2021. That’s up from a team total of 19 in 2020.
“We just continue to latch our bond closer and closer. It starts off the field,” said Dupree. “We can’t just come out here on gameday and think we’ll build a bond. We have to link up, guys have to continue to know each others family outside the field and that way we build that bond and chemistry.”
In addition to Simmons, first-round rookie wide receiver Treylon Burks also missed practice. This is the second-straight practice available to media he has missed. Vrabel also described him as “unavailable.”