Tennessee Titans training camp: Position battle to watch for Day 5
Day 5 of the Tennessee Titans' 2025 training camp will transpire on Tuesday at the Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park, and the competition will continue to heat up as jobs are on the line.
With the pads going on for the first time, the battle for the starting inside linebacker position next to Cody Barton could kick into high gear. Early on during practice in shells, second-year linebacker James Williams flashed and has created some buzz. A former college safety, Williams has opened some eyes with his athleticism and ability in coverage, an area that the Titans must improve in 2025.
Veteran Otis Reese was widely considered the front-runner to land the starting role opposite Barton, and while he has been steady, he hasn't flashed the big-play potential Williams has displayed in the early stages of camp.
Head coach Brian Callahan even spoke on Williams' development during one of the initial media sessions.
Asked #Titans Head coach Brian Callahan about James Williams' development at linebacker.... pic.twitter.com/IRwR9rGPcF
"He's done a really nice job,' Titans coach Brian Callahan said. 'He's matured from his first year to his second. He's starting to understand at the linebacker position, with your eyes and your reads and how quickly you have to diagnose and react, those things have improved leaps and bounds from his first year to his second year. Combine that kind of mental improvement with his maturity, and he's put himself in a really nice position.'
While Williams has been a name rising during the initial days of training camp, there is still a long way to go in this competition, and things can change once the physical practices in pads begin. With those practices kicking off on Tuesday, Reese, Cedric Gray, Anfernee Orji, and Curtis Jacobs will receive every chance to compete and stake their claim to that starting role.
There is a long way to go in training camp, and with joint practice sessions with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons on the horizon, there will be plenty of opportunities for one of these linebackers to carve out a role in the Titans' defense.
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