Titans wide receiver Carnell Tate’s second month of NFL games went well for him.
Tate had 21 catches for 290 yards and a touchdown in Tennessee’s four games last month. The touchdown came against the Colts in Week 6 and helped the Titans pick up their only victory to this point in the season.
While that record has not produced much reason for honors, Tate’s play did earn him the offensive rookie of the month award. He’s the first Titans player to take that prize since A.J. Brown in 2019, but linebacker Anthony Hill was the league’s choice as the top defensive rookie for September.
Tate has 34 catches for 413 yards and a touchdown over the entire season.
Fresh off last week’s trade from the Titans to the Bears, defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons had a clear impact on Monday night’s win over the Seahawks.
Simmons finished the game with six tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass defensed in the 34-17 victory.
Head coach Ben Johnson told reporters after the game that he gave Simmons a game ball or the performance.
“Our guys were excited the moment they heard the news we were bringing him on, and he’s fit right in,” Johnson said. “We have a high-character locker room, and he’s that himself. You can feel his presence out there, whether it’s during the play or even after the play. You can feel him talk a little smack as well which I think that elevates everybody around him.
“I thought he played outstanding. He got one of the game balls. To come in there and have a share of the lead of tackles and a sack in his first game, his impact was profound.”
The Bears allowed just 252 total yards on Monday night, which was 1 yard off from Seattle’s lowest output of the season. The Bears will be at home to play the Buccaneers on Sunday night in Week 9.
After consistently telling teams that defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons would not be traded, the Titans decided last Tuesday to listen to offers.
This Tuesday, they have another decision to make about one of the key offensive players on the roster.
Multiple teams are interested in running back Tony Pollard. So far, however, G.M. Mike Borgonzi has declined to engage in conversations about a potential trade.
Whether that will change remains to be seen, with or without someone calling owner Amy Adams Strunk directly.
Regardless, Pollard is an attractive option for any contender looking for help at the position. His contract is very affordable, relative to the veteran market. His 2027 base salary is $5.99 million (with $3.32 million left for 2026). In 2027, he’s due to earn a non-guaranteed base salary of $6.74 million. (In each year, he earns $30,000 for each game in which he’s on the active roster.)
Over the past two games, Pollard has rushed for 246 yards and five touchdowns. He’s averaging in those two games 5.34 yards per carry.
Pollard has four straight 1,000-yard seasons (two with the Cowboys, two with the Titans). At 595 yards through eight games, he’s on pace for a fifth.
With multiple teams linked to Colts running back Jonathan Taylor — and with the Colts not yet in a ballpark that will get a deal done — Pollard could become a much more affordable Plan B as the trade deadline creeps closer and closer.
Giants coach John Harbaugh apparently ruffled some feathers in Nashville by making a phone call to Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk in an effort to spark trade discussions for defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. And Harbaugh doesn’t care about any “code” that he may have violated by going over the head of Titans G.M. Mike Borgonzi.
Harbaugh admitted to reporters on Monday that he made the call. And he vowed to make similar calls, if it’s in the best interests of the team.
“I did, I did,” Harbaugh said regarding whether he called Strunk. “I left a message. . . . Because you turn over every stone. You know, gonna try everything. I mean, I just, I’ll put it out there, man, we’re open for any call. Anybody wants to call us or call anybody. Call.”
Next came a discussion about songs that send the “call me” message, from the Blondie song of that name to the more recent Call Me Maybe.
“Let’s put that out there,” Harbaugh said. “Put that out there. It was kind of, like, fun to see the outpouring of interest in that. I enjoyed it. We’re not like — we’re not part of any secret society oath that says you can only talk to somebody. We’re not in that. We didn’t get memoed on that. We’re not in that agreement. So like I said, anybody can call us. We won’t be adhering to that particular agreement.”
Amen to all of that. The only rules that should matter are the written rules. Those who tiptoe around unwritten rules undermine their chances to get shit done.
Besides, calls between teams happen at many different levels. There isn’t an exclusive G.M.-to-G.M. network of bat phones.
In this specific case, the Giants apparently weren’t getting anywhere with Borgonzi. So they got creative, and resourceful.
As we understand it, they didn’t hear from the Titans to see if they’d match or beat the offer the Bears made for Simmons. Which would seem to be the sensible thing to do before finalizing a deal — unless the Bears expressly set a firm and quick take-it-or-leave-it deadline that prevented the Titans from exploring whether more could have been gotten from another team.
Star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase gave a fiery halftime speech last week when the Bengals trailed the Ravens 13-0. The Bengals won 35-13.
Chase put his frustration on public display Sunday, once spiking his helmet on the sideline and another time being animated. The Bengals trailed the Titans 13-0, 28-23 and 36-29 before winning 43-36 in overtime.
The Bengals seem to like angry Chase.
“He’s a pro, and guys get emotional sometimes,” quarterback Joe Burrow said, via Geoff Hobson of the team website. “That’s how it is. I like when he gets emotional like that. It usually means I need to do a better job of throwing him the ball. That’s a good reminder.”
Chase had his first 100-yard game of the season, with 141 yards and a touchdown on 11 catches, but two of Burrow’s interceptions were intended for Chase. The quarterback and wide receiver had a miscommunication on a scramble drill on one, and Burrow underthrew a wide-open Chase on another that should have been a touchdown.
Chase agreed that he “probably was” upset, but he wouldn’t say why.
“He may be mad at me. He may be mad at whoever,” coach Zac Taylor said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “I trust him to go out there and do his job. That doesn’t change anything.
“I kind of like it, to be honest with you. It’s something different to deal with. It’s kind of good. I like the competitiveness from our guys.”
