NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The Tennessee Titans rookie minicamp opened on Friday, but the team’s eight new draft picks were not on the field for any of the drill work.
Instead, head coach Robert Saleh had them spending their time with the strength and conditioning coaches.
“Yeah, I feel good about it,” said receiver Carnell Tate. “Those guys have a program for me. I trust and believe they’re going to put me in the best position. It’s just mainly about all getting acclimated. Catching the guys up from the draft up to the speed the team is at right now. So just not trying to rush into anything and risking the injuries.”
Fellow first round pick, Keldric Faulk, agrees.
“Yeah, I did at Auburn,” said Faulk. “We kind of like slowly got guys into programs just to not just throw them in the fire right away, but to slowly get them back up to speed. That happened with transfer guys that first come in, with the freshmen that first come in with us. It happened with me my freshman year, just getting acclimated to all the new things I had to learn. But I feel like it’s a good thing, just getting us up to speed with the vets.”
“I’m trusting the staff,” said second round pick, Anthony Hill, Jr. “So if the staff’s saying we need to slow it down and do some of the stuff, they’ve been in the NFL a long time, they’ve been doing this for a long and I’m trusting them. I’m a rookie, so I’m learning the ropes and if they tell me I need to step back a little bit, I’m going to step back and do what they tell me to do.”
Saleh’s reason for the ramp-up goes back to his days with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Yeah, I’ve called it a scar,” said Saleh. “I was on the staff that saw Dante Fowler tear his ACL on the first rep of rookie minicamp. So, I’ve just taken the philosophy these guys have had a lot, they’ve had a lot of stress over the last month, their bodies aren’t ready for football. And so, we’re just trying to see where they’re at so we can properly get them acclimated once they get here with the veterans.”
Titans rookie minicamp continues through the weekend.
Next week, the veterans join the fold for more off-season work.
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.