There is some positive news on the injury front for the Ravens.
Both quarterback Lamar Jackson and receiver Zay Flowers were among those upgraded from limited to full participants at practice on Thursday.
Jackson is dealing with a back injury. Flowers has a hamstring injury and missed Week 2 before playing in last week’s victory over the Cowboys.
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey (hamstring), guard John Simpson (groin), and tight end Durham Smythe (heel) were also upgraded from limited to full.
Receiver Chris Moore (ankle) and offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe) both remained limited.
Tight end Mark Andrews (hand) remained full.
But outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson (finger), offensive lineman Jovaughn Gwyn (ankle), and center Ethan Pocic (knee) were out of practice for the second day in a row. Pocic is expected to be placed on injured reserve.
Titans Clips
The Titans added safety Kevin Winston Jr. to their injury report Thursday.
Winston was a full participant with a shoulder injury.
The other three players were upgraded to practice participants on Thursday.
After not practicing Wednesday, running backs Tony Pollard (foot) and Tyjae Spears (ankle) practiced. Pollard was a full participant, and Spears was limited.
Coach Robert Saleh had said earlier in the week that he’s “not overly concerned about Sunday” for his top two running backs.
Pollard has 38 carries for 173 yards with six receptions for 22 yards. Spears has 58 yards on 13 carries along with four receptions for 41 yards.
Defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers (back) got limited work Thursday after not practicing Wednesday.
Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez is the early betting favorite for defensive rookie of the year, but he wasn’t the NFL’s choice for defensive rookie of the month.
The NFL announced on Thursday that Titans linebacker Anthony Hill has taken that award. Hill joined the Titans as a second-round pick in April.
Hill leads the entire league with 34 tackles through the first three weeks of the regular season. He has also broken up a pair of passes so far this season.
What Hill has yet to do as a professional is win a game. The Titans are 0-3 and will take on the Ravens as they search for their first victory. If Hill can keep former Titan Derrick Henry under wraps, their chances of obtaining it will look a little better.
For eight seasons, Derrick Henry helped power the Titans offense, becoming one of the league’s best and most feared running backs in the process.
He departed Tennessee after the 2023 season, but he’s still been plenty dangerous with Baltimore. He currently leads the NFL with six rushing touchdowns through the first three weeks.
In his first season as Titans head coach, Robert Saleh wasn’t with the club alongside Henry. But he is well aware of the legacy Henry left in the building, and knows Henry will be plenty challenging to slow down as Tennessee takes on Baltimore this weekend.
“First of all, I still think he has aura,” Saleh said in his Wednesday press conference. “The guy’s an unbelievable football player destined for the Hall of Fame. Everything you hear about the man, his off the field work habits, how he interacts with people, and then who he is on the field.
“I mean, he’s been a very special man in that regard. I’ve never coached with him, but I’ve always gotten a chance to see him from afar and go against him. And again, he’s an animal. Still running like he’s 25 years old. He’s a tremendous challenge, and anytime you’re trying to replace a Hall of Famer, it’s not going to be easy.”
The Titans have Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears carrying the load at running back now.
It will be tough for them to try and match Henry on Sunday, but they’ll have to try.
Ravens running back Derrick Henry will do something he’s never done before this weekend.
Henry will play against the Titans for the first time. He was a 2016 second-round pick in Tennessee and won the 2020 offensive player of the year award during his eight seasons with the team, but the Ravens did not play his former team in his first two seasons with Baltimore.
Henry joked on Wednesday that “it’s a whole different logo” when asked about the emotions involved in facing his first NFL team, but then admitted that there will be a little extra feeling come Sunday.
“It’s going to be a crazy moment to be playing against the team that I came in the league playing for,” Henry said. “But I ain’t trying to make too much of it, though. . . . It’s still like family there. So it’s always love, but it ain’t going to be much love on Sunday.”
Henry called his departure from the Titans “bittersweet” because they didn’t make an effort to keep him. That may be a decision they regret as Henry has run for 3,817 yards and scored 40 touchdowns for the Ravens and they’ll regret it even more if he runs wild again on Sunday.
The Titans did not have either of their top two running backs on the field for Wednesday’s practice. But they may still be OK for this week’s game against the Ravens.
Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears did not participate to start the practice week.
But head coach Robert Saleh told reporters earlier in the day that he’s “not overly concerned about Sunday” for both players.
Pollard has a foot injury while Spears is dealing with an ankle injury.
Pollard has taken 38 carries for 173 yards with six receptions for 22 yards. Spears has 58 yards on 13 carries along with four receptions for 41 yards.
Additionally, defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers (back) did not participate on Wednesday. Saleh similarly told reporters that he’s not too concerned about Franklin-Myers’ availability for Sunday.
Ravens head coach Jesse Minter told reporters on Wednesday that quarterback Lamar Jackson was “dealing with something small,” which is why he was limited in the day’s practice.
With the release of Baltimore’s injury report, there’s now more of an indication of what was up.
Jackson was limited with a back issue, according to the report.
That Jackson was still able to get on the field is a positive sign for his availability this week. But the situation bears monitoring as the Ravens get ready to play the Titans on Sunday.
Outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson (finger) also did not participate on Wednesday. Center Ethan Pocic (knee) also did not practice, though that’s to be expected after he suffered what Minter called a long-term injury on Sunday.
Receiver Zay Flowers (hamstring), cornerback Marlon Humphrey (hamstring), receiver Chris Moore (ankle), guard John Simpson (groin), tight end Durham Smythe (heel), and offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe) were also limited in the day’s session.
Defensive lineman Calais Campbell received a rest day.
The Titans rank 31st in total offense and 30th in scoring.
In his second season since the Titans made him the No. 1 overall pick, Cam Ward ranks 21st with an 80.9 passer rating. He has two touchdowns and an interception.
The Titans were at the Giants 7-yard line with 24 seconds remaining when he dropped back to pass. He could have run for a touchdown, but instead threw an interception to Jevon Holland in a 12-7 loss.
Coach Robert Saleh was asked about Ward’s continued struggles after 20 career starts.
“You’ve got to remember the young man was sacked however many times last year, so I’m sure there’s some PTSD there,” Saleh said, via NFL.com. “But he’s getting better. He’s trusting it. His footwork is lasting him longer into games if that makes sense. But from an accuracy standpoint, decision-making standpoint, everything starts with your feet at the quarterback position.”
Ward was sacked 55 times last season as a rookie. He has been sacked five times this season.
“You see him comfortable in the pocket,” Saleh said. “You see him trusting the offensive line, and later in the game you kind of see him kind of revert back to some old habits. But I do think he’s getting better in that regard. I think he’s starting to really appreciate the offensive line because I think they are doing a really good job protecting him.”
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was not on the field for the portion of Wednesday’s practice that was open to the media, but he wound up getting out there before the session came to an end.
Head coach Jesse Minter opened his press conference by giving an update on the quarterback that should alleviate any fears that he might be at risk of missing Sunday’s game against the Titans.
“Lamar was at practice in a little limited role. Just dealing with something small,” Minter said. “That was good. I had heard that maybe was maybe sheer pandemonium that he wasn’t out there earlier. He ended up being able to get some stuff done.”
Jackson’s status will be updated over the next couple of days, but it appears Wednesday’s early absence is not a major concern in Baltimore.
Titans quarterback Cam Ward’s late interception in last Sunday’s loss to the Giants earned him some criticism from head coach Robert Saleh.
Saleh said in his postgame press conference that Ward has to “be smarter with the football” than he was when his pass into the end zone was picked off by Giants safety Jevon Holland. He revisited Ward’s turnover on Monday and clarified that he doesn’t believe Ward is a “reckless” player while reiterating that it was a “bad decision” by the quarterback.
Ward has heard other criticism without the compliments that Saleh included in his overall assessment of the quarterback’s play and said on Wednesday that it “comes with the job.” He also said that he knows he needs to be sharper in those kinds of situations for the Titans to win games.
“I just don’t think I played my best in critical situations,” Ward said, via the team’s website. “You look at over the course of the game, it was good to win. But when I needed to play my best, I didn’t. And that’s something I have to get better at. It’s something I have to attack this week going into the next game. But it is something you get to learn from . . . and you make sure it doesn’t happen again in the future.”
A few wins would help a lot when it comes to quieting critical views of the quarterback’s development and the bid to start getting them will start against the Ravens this week.
