Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky signed a two-year deal with the Titans this offseason, reuniting with his former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
While Trubisky was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 draft, at this point in his career, he’s better suited as a backup. That’s a role he’s embracing, particularly given his familiarity with the scheme and the presence of young quarterback Cam Ward.
“At this point of my career, I feel like I have a lot to offer as a mentor,” Trubisky said recently, via Jim Wyatt of the team’s website. “And Cam being young, we’ve have a great relationship so far, and I am looking forward to helping him in any way I can, and take the next step, but also these young guys. Not only Cam, but everyone on this team. It is a fairly young team overall. I am getting up there with my experience, but I feel like I have a lot to offer.
“I love being a great teammate, and I love working hard. It was a great opportunity to come here, and I look forward to playing with coach [Robert] Saleh and coach ‘Dabes.’”
Trubisky, who has started 57 games in his career, said that at this point he knows his job is to come out and work.
“I know it is a mentor-type role, me being in Year 10 and Cam being in Year 2,” Trubisky said. “My job here is to help Cam as much as possible to be the best player he can possibly be.
“I am happy to be here to support him, and I am definitely willing to help, to be the best teammate I could possibly be and help this franchise win in any way possible. I love the game of football. I love the team camaraderie aspect, pushing each other, and I love competing every day and trying to be the best I can possibly be at my craft.”
While that M word “mentorship” can be a dirty one for many veteran quarterbacks, it’s notable that Trubisky has not only accepted it, but is also embracing it.
Trubisky may be the backup, but given his familiarity with the coaching staff and the league at large, he should be an asset for Ward’s development in his second season.
Titans quarterback Cam Ward hasn’t always been his sharpest at OTA practices while learning the team’s new offense this spring, but missed passes aren’t a concern for the guys calling the shots on the coaching staff.
Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said that Titans players are “still learning” the offense and that “you have to make the mistakes” in order to fix what’s wrong with the unit’s operation. He said the team is happy with where Ward is at this point in the process and head coach Robert Saleh echoed that lack of concern.
“Every quarterback is going to miss a couple here and there,” Saleh said, via Turron Davenport of ESPN.com. “I would say Brock Purdy’s one of the most accurate quarterbacks in all of football, and he would miss a lot of throws, and that’s OK. These guys are all working on a few things here and there.”
The Titans will have chances to continue ironing out the mistakes at minicamp this week and during training camp. If that goes well, the offense should be in position for a quick start to the regular season.
The Titans announced a handful of roster moves as they kicked off this week’s mandatory minicamp.
They have signed defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes and center Andre James. They waived defensive lineman C.J. Ravenell with an injury designation and released center Trey Hill in corresponding moves.
Holmes appeared in 21 games for the Commanders over the last two seasons. He had 35 tackles and two sacks in those contests. He’s also played for the Jets, Bears, Saints and Vikings since entering the league as a 2018 fourth-round pick in Minnesota.
James spent the last six seasons with the Raiders. He played in 89 games and made 60 starts.
The Titans are taking a look at a veteran defensive player.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, safety Ifeatu Melifonwu worked out for Tennessee on Tuesday.
Melifonwu, 27, previously worked out for the Seahawks earlier this month.
Melifonwu spent last season with the Dolphins after playing out his rookie contract with the Lions. He appeared in1 6 games with eight starts for Miami, recording 53 total tackles, an interception, and a sack.
A third-round pick in 2021, Melifonwu has appeared in a total of 53 games with 22 starts. He’s recorded 5.5 career sacks along with 14 passes defensed, and three interceptions.
It’s been more than two months since the story of the offseason landed out of the blue, courtesy of photos from the New York Post and (more importantly) clear and strong denials from the people involved.
Although the drip-drip of worthwhile developments has ended (that hasn’t stopped some from using anything/everything they can to harvest clicks and video views), there’s one unresolved issue that apparently will remain that way, into the summer.
Via Oli Coleman of the New York Post, The Athletic executive editor Steven Ginsberg recently provided an internal update regarding its investigation into the reporting of Dianna Russini, given the evidence that emerged of her relationship with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
“It’s going to take a few more weeks,” Ginsberg reportedly said. “There’s just a lot to go through, and we obviously want to take our time and be careful doing that. We will update everybody when we get to the end of that. We’ve also said that if we find anything that needs to be corrected, we will correct it along the way.”
In her April 14 resignation letter, Russini repeated her strong denial of wrongdoing that blamed the media for engaging in “self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.” The Athletic continued its investigation after her departure.
It’s unclear why it has taken so long for The Athletic, which is owned by the New York Times, to finish its investigation. As Coleman notes, the delay is creating internal concerns.
For now, it appears that The Athletic intends to continue its investigation, to conclude it, and to share its outcome. Even if The Athletic doesn’t publish any final report, chances are that someone within the broader Times apparatus will get it, and leak it.
Even without publication of the report (or a leak of it), The Athletic may go back and “correct” past reporting.
It’s a delicate balance for The Athletic and the Times. Photos of Vrabel and Russini from March 2020, which emerged after her resignation, raise questions about the quality of the vetting process and/or the oversight of Russini. Basically, what did management know, what should it have known, when did it know it, and when should have been known? A full and transparent investigation could make the publications, which already look bad as to their initial statement on the matter, come off even worse.
Brushing it all under the rug won’t be acceptable, either. The issue highlights pre-existing tensions between the Times and The Athletic. Will the employees of The Athletic be held to the same standard as employees of the Times?
Hovering over everything The Athletic says or does is the possibility of litigation, if Russini continues to adhere to her denials and is willing to back them up by filing a defamation case against anyone who says otherwise.
