Tennessee Titans' training camp: Injury roundup ahead of joint practices with Falcons
When the Tennessee Titans hit the field against the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday, expect to see another intense joint practice session, as well as some returning faces to the practice field.
Safety Quandre Diggs is expected to make his 2025 return to team drills, and he could potentially be joined by both Blake Hance and Lloyd Cushenberry. Titans head coach Brian Callahan spoke with the media and stated that he is optimistic the two veterans will return to on-field work at some point during the week in Atlanta.
It's a significant step forward for Cushenberry, who is recovering from a torn Achilles. He will have to be activated from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list prior to taking part in any part of practice.
While those players could return, the Titans are expected to be without a few players during the joint practices. Running back Tyjae Spears (ankle), T'Vondre Sweat (tonsillectomy) and Kevin Winston Jr. (knee soreness) will all likely be out this week. Winston does have an outside shot at returning to practice, but the team is being cautious with his ACL rehab and are keeping the rookie out as a precautionary measure.
A little clarity on #Titans safety Kevin Winston Jr.-He's dealing w/normal soreness that comes in the post ACL surgery recovery.-Brian Callahan has mentioned before about being smart and carefully managing select players during training camp. Winston is one of them.-Titans… https://t.co/F3Q9V7i5UZ
Another player who will be sidelined is linebacker Anfernee Orji, who is likely headed to injured reserve after suffering an ACL injury in a joint practice session with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
#Titans ILB Anfernee Orji suffered a torn ACL during this Thursday's joint practice and will miss the 2025 season per source.
The Titans have not made an official announcement or roster move, but could do so before taking the field on Tuesday. Orji was competing for playing time with James Williams, Cedric Gray, and Otis Reese IV at inside linebacker, and was ticketed to potentially play a major role on special teams.
Cornerback L'Jarius Sneed is making progress, but is not ready to take the field and will remain on the PUP list.
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New York Times
8 minutes ago
- New York Times
Penix ends up on bottom of pile in Falcons-Titans fight: ‘Everything happened pretty fast'
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — D.J. Williams thought Michael Penix Jr.'s teammates liked him. On Wednesday, he learned it for certain after the Atlanta Falcons quarterback was knocked to the ground during a joint practice against the Tennessee Titans, setting off a large fight that took several minutes to disentangle. Advertisement 'Obviously, you don't want that,' Williams, Atlanta's quarterbacks coach, said, 'but I take some positives out of it because you saw the guys take up for him. That speaks to his leadership and who he is in that locker room. As coaches, we're upstairs — they're downstairs. We don't really see a lot, but obviously he has a relationship with the guys.' The part that Williams didn't like was seeing his starting quarterback at the bottom of a pile of players surrounded by grappling teammates. After practice, Penix still wasn't sure how he ended up at the bottom of that pile. He did know what started the fight, though. 'I threw a deep pass. They had (said) a lot of words throughout practice, so I gave my words,' he said. 'It just went a little too far. Celebration. Somebody didn't like it, and it went on from there. Everything happened pretty fast. Penix's trash talk came after a long touchdown pass to Ray-Ray McCloud. His words were a response, he said, to comments from Titans defenders that he felt went too far. Elevating 📈@themikepenix x @RMIII_34 — Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 13, 2025 'I don't really do too much talking till somebody says something to me,' Penix continued. 'They probably looked at me like, '(He's) just a quarterback, not that type of person,' but … I'm from Tampa. It's a respect (thing). We are all competing, but when disrespect comes in, it's like, 'This ain't football no more.' We can talk trash, but I'll never call you out on your name, and I don't want you to ever call me out on my name.' All of Atlanta's offensive linemen came to Penix's aid, and right guard Matthew Bergeron had to be pulled from the middle of the pile as every coach on the field blew his whistle over and over. Penix, tight end Kyle Pitts and wide receiver Drake London had to be restrained by teammates and coaches, and it eventually took several blasts of an airhorn to get everyone's attention. Titans Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons had his helmet ripped off in the fracas. Advertisement 'I've never had that situation on the field before,' Penix said. 'To see the team have my back … it was good to know that those guys have my back.' Penix generally is one of the more mild-mannered players on Atlanta's roster, and Williams was surprised to see him get so angry. 'He's a calm guy, but when you see him fiery, it gets the offense going a little bit,' Williams said. 'He started off as a running back, so he always says, 'D.J, I'm a football player first.' I say, 'I understand that, but you're a quarterback now and this is an economic game.'' 'That wasn't me,' Penix quipped. 'That was somebody else.' Michael Penix Jr. on the fight that broke out . He says he doesn't really remember what happened. He said he threw a deep ball and was celebrating, then a fight broke out. — Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) August 13, 2025 Falcons right tackle Kaleb McGary and Titans outside linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo had to be separated two snaps later. Wednesday was the second day of joint practices between the Falcons and Titans. Tuesday went smoothly, but Wednesday was chippy from the start. Former Atlanta wide receiver Calvin Ridley got in a scuffle during a special teams rep before the big fight and had to be calmed down by Falcons coach Raheem Morris, who remains close to Ridley. After the major melee, a special teams session sparked another fight, and Falcons wide receiver Casey Washington had his helmet ripped off and tossed away by a Tennessee player. 'Emotions get high. It's hot out here,' Williams said. 'We've got a bunch of guys fighting for their lives.' Wednesday's scuffle probably reinforced Morris' decision to hold Penix out of preseason games this year. 'My philosophy with the quarterback is definitely to mitigate the amount of hits they take that are unnecessary. Preseason hits for a quarterback are unnecessary,' Morris said before practice. 'Mike knows how to get tackled. I'm good with that. I don't need to see it until there is money on the line.' Advertisement Missing preseason games won't impact Penix's readiness for the Sept. 8 season-opener against Tampa Bay, the quarterback said. 'I don't think it'll affect my preparation at all,' he said. 'I'm always going to be ready. That's my job, to be ready. In college, you didn't have a preseason. Playing in preseason, will it help me in certain aspects of the game? Maybe. Maybe not. We don't really know. The only difference about me not playing preseason is I am not taking hits.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Michael Penix Jr. involved in scuffle during Falcons joint practice with Titans
Tempers flared during Wednesday's joint practice between the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. found himself in the middle of the scuffle. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] After Penix hit Ray-Ray McCloud III on a deep pass, Penix was exchanging pleasantries with Titans defenders when things went from heated to physical. The Falcons quarterback ended up in the middle of a pile as players from both teams ran over from the sidelines. 'They had a lot of words throughout practice, so I gave them my words and it just went a little bit too far," said a smiling Penix. There were no reported injuries from the incident and Penix was out on the field for the next series. Several instances of pushing and shoving occurred after that, but no punches appeared to have been thrown. "[Penix] started it on that one, on Team 1," said Titans linebacker Arden Key, via ESPN. "But again, those guys in Atlanta, they protected the quarterback, which they were supposed to do. O-line came in, did what they did, and we wasn't allowing that, but that's what they were supposed to do." Penix was appreciative of his teammates coming to his aid before anything escalated saying, "A lot of guys asked me if I was good, and it was good to know that those guys had my back." The second-year Falcons quarterback joked he blacked out during the fight and that he was "somebody else out there." Not one to initiate trash talk, Penix said he's not afraid to give it right back to opponent who thinks he doesn't have the ability to dish it out. "They probably looked at me as just the quarterback, [that] I wasn't that type of person," Penix said. "But I'm from Tampa. I'm from Dade City. ... There's a respect part about it. We're all playing, we're all competing at a high level, but when disrespect comes in, it's like, 'All right, this ain't football no more.'" Falcons head coach Raheem Morris has already announced that Penix will not play on Friday in the team's second preseason game against the Titans. Kirk Cousins will also likely sit with Easton Stick and Emory Jones seeing action.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. lands at bottom of pile during joint-practice scuffle with Titans
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was surprised to find himself in the middle of a scuffle that interrupted his team's second joint practice with the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday. After connecting with Ray-Ray McCloud III on a long touchdown pass, Penix said he was 'celebrating' with comments he said were delivered in response to 'words' from Tennessee players. 'I like to compete at a high level and when I compete I don't really do too much talking,' Penix said. 'So somebody say something to me and ... OK, I throw a touchdown. 'Now what y'all talking about?' And then I guess not everybody take that the right way. And I think that's all it was.' Penix was thrown to the ground by one or more Tennessee players. Penix ended up at the bottom of a pile of players. He said it was the first time he's been involved in an altercation like that on the field. The scuffle came only hours after Falcons coach Raheem Morris commended players for competing in the first joint practice Tuesday 'without all the foolish things' like fights on the field. Tennessee players were critical of their inability to match the intensity of the Falcons' players in Wednesday's first joint practice. The visitors were determined to show more fire in the second joint practice. 'The team had a little scuffle going on, but after the scuffle we were still able to play football and keep that high intensity,' said Titans outside linebacker Arden Key. The joint practices were staged at the Falcons' practice facility before the teams play a preseason game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Friday night. Falcons quarterback coach D.J. Williams wasn't happy to see Penix, the second-year quarterback entering his first full season as the starter, at the bottom of the pile. 'Obviously, you don't want that,' Williams said. Williams said it was revealing to see how Penix's teammates rose to his defense. 'I take the positive out of it,' Williams said. 'Like you saw the guys take up for him. And I think that speaks to his leadership and who he is in that locker room. ... Obviously he has the relationship and the trust of the guys because everybody ran to his defense. So I think that's a good thing for the Falcons.' Following the practice, Penix was still struggling to process the altercation. 'I don't know. I was somebody else,' Penix said. Asked about being at the bottom of the pile, he said, 'I don't know where I was at in it. It was a lot of people in it. I know I was down there somewhere. I wasn't the only one, though.' Penix said he was appreciative 'to see the team had my back and they were there to make sure they protect me. A lot of guys asked me if I was good.' Morris said Penix will sit out the second straight preseason game. Backup Kirk Cousins also may be held out after the two split most of the snaps in team drills in the joint practices. Titans coach Brian Callahan, who spoke before Wednesday's practice, said the same players who played in the team's 29-7 loss at Tampa Bay in last week's preseason opener likely will play against the Falcons. That list includes rookie starter Cam Ward, who played two series against the Buccaneers and was encouraged by the response to the team's disappointing Tuesday practice. 'Today's practice, we were a lot better,' Ward said. Ward acknowledged his Wednesday practice wasn't perfect. He was picked off by Falcons safety Dee Alford after he was forced to scramble and then tried to throw the ball out of bounds. 'Just not putting enough on it,' Ward said. Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL draft, said he already feels 'I'd be fully prepared' to open the regular season this week. ___ AP NFL:
