TITANS SET to BEGIN TRAINING CAMP UNDER HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL Titans Will Conduct 15 Practices That Will Be Free and Open to the Public
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JULY 23, 2018 TITANS SET TO BEGIN TRAINING CAMP UNDER HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL Titans will conduct 15 practices that will be free and open to the public NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans will hold their first practice of 2018 training camp on Thursday, July 26. It will mark the first of the team's 15 total training 2018 TITANS SCHEDULE camp practices that will be free and open to the general public. PRESEASON Titans quarterbacks, rookies and injured Day Date Opponent Kickoff TV players reported to camp on July 22, and veter- Thursday Aug. 9 at Green Bay 7 p.m. WKRN ans will join them on July 25, with the first practice Saturday Aug. 18 TAMPA BAY 7 p.m. WKRN scheduled for the following morning at 9:50 a.m. The 15 open camp practices are the most scheduled Saturday Aug. 25 at Pittsburgh 3 p.m. WKRN by the team since 2011, when 17 dates were open. Thursday Aug. 30 MINNESOTA 7 p.m. WKRN All but two of the open practices will take place at Saint Thomas Sports Park, the team's home training facility located at 460 Great Circle Road in REGULAR SEASON MetroCenter, Nashville. The exceptions are Pinnacle Friday Night Lights Day Date Opponent Kickoff TV on Aug. 3 at Centennial High School in Franklin, Tenn., and the Aug. 4 intra-squad scrimmage at Nissan Stadium. Sunday Sept. 9 at Miami Noon FOX From Aug. 15-16, the Titans will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a Sunday Sept. 16 HOUSTON Noon CBS pair of joint practices leading up to their preseason matchup on Aug. 18. Nor- Sunday Sept. 23 at Jacksonville Noon CBS mal procedures and accommodations, including free admission, will apply. Sunday Sept. 30 PHILADELPHIA Noon FOX Training camp is the only time of the year in which practices are open to Sunday Oct. 7 at Buffalo Noon* CBS the general public. All sessions are subject to change and will be closed to the public upon severe weather. Sunday Oct. 14 BALTIMORE 3:25 p.m.* CBS Sunday Oct. 21 at L.A. Chargers (London) 8:30 a.m. CBS FAN EXPERIENCE AT TRAINING CAMP Sunday Oct. 28 Bye Monday Nov. 5 at Dallas 7:15 p.m. ESPN Spectators who attended training camp in 2017 noticed significant changes and upgrades in the club's camp operations, implemented for the Sunday Nov. 11 NEW ENGLAND Noon* CBS safety and comfort of everyone in attendance. Most of those same modifica- Sunday Nov. 18 at Indianapolis Noon* CBS tions will be in place for 2018. Monday Nov. 26 at Houston 7:15 p.m. ESPN Bleachers surround the practice field to provide ample seating and a Sunday Dec. 2 N.Y. JETS 3:05 p.m.* CBS limited amount of shade. A cold, filtered water station and two misting areas Thursday Dec. 6 JACKSONVILLE 7:20 p.m. FOX/NFLN to help keep fans cool are available free of charge. As always, select players will sign autographs after every practice that is Sunday Dec. 16 at N.Y. Giants Noon* CBS open to the general public. The sessions will take place in the south, middle Sat./Sun. Dec. 22/23 WASHINGTON TBA TBA end zone area. Generally, around 15 players per day participate in the auto- Sunday Dec. 30 INDIANAPOLIS Noon* CBS graph session. A limited number of free parking spaces are available across the street All kickoff times Central * Times subject to change from Saint Thomas Sports Park at 445 Great Circle Road. Additionally, free parking is available at Nashville Metro Parks and Recreation's Ted Rhodes Multipurpose Fields (720 Mainstream Drive), where courtesy shuttles run ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ continuously starting one hour before practice until one hour after practice concludes. Security measures will be in place for all fans attending Titans training FOLLOW TITANS TRAINING CAMP camp. To enter the grounds, fans must pass through a metal detector, and the same clear bag policy used at Nissan Stadium applies at training camp. Fans can get the updated training camp schedule and other information Other items not allowed include food and beverage, tobacco products, cool- at the team's official website,TitansOnline.com , which is redesigned in 2018. ers, liquids, umbrellas, chairs and strollers. Empty water bottles are allowed The website and its accompanying mobile site and app will have daily written and can be filled at the free water station. and video updates from senior writer/editor Jim Wyatt, who has covered the team since 1999; the “Voice of the Titans” Mike Keith; and broadcast coordi- nator Amie Wells. TitansOnline.com/MediaGuide Tennessee Titans 2018 Training Camp Preview Page 2 of 30 additional title from Strunk of executive vice president. Her confidence was rewarded in 2017, when the Titans earned their first postseason berth since PUBLIC TRAINING CAMP PRACTICES the 2008 season and won their first postseason game since the 2003 cam- paign. The following training camp practices (all at Saint Thomas Sports The Titans enter training camp with a 90-man roster, the maximum Park unless otherwise noted) are open to the general public, weather allowed by the NFL. Of those 90 players, all but 14 have been added since permitting: Robinson took the reins of the team's football operations in 2016. Robinson has selected 23 total players in the last three drafts, and 20 of those picks Thurs., July 26 �������9:50 a.m. – Noon remain with the club heading into training camp. During the same period, Fri., July 27 . 9:50 a.m. – Noon he has engineered 13 trades and made eight waiver claims. Robinson's 2018 draft class was limited to four players due to multiple Sat., July 28 ���������9:50 a.m. – Noon trades to go up and get his targets. But the class possesses the potential Sun., July 29 . 9:50 a.m. – Noon to make a significant impact. It includes first-round linebacker Rashaan Mon., July 30 �������9:50 a.m. – Noon Evans from Alabama (22nd overall pick), second-round outside linebacker Wed., Aug. 1 �������9:50 a.m. – Noon Harold Landry from Boston College (41st overall), fifth-round defensive Thurs., Aug. 2 �������9:50 a.m. – Noon back Dane Cruikshank from Arizona (152nd overall) and sixth-round quar- terback Luke Falk from Washington State (199th overall). Fri., Aug. 3 . 7:15 – 9:00 p.m. ....Pinnacle Friday Night Lights The Titans' 2018 free agent acquisitions were highlighted by a pair of at Centennial High School former Patriots: cornerback Malcolm Butler and running back Dion Lewis. Sat., Aug. 4 ���������3:30 – 6:00 p.m. ....at Nissan Stadium Butler was named to the Pro Bowl in 2015 and earned second-team Asso- Mon., Aug. 6 �������9:50 a.m. – Noon ciated Press All-Pro honors in 2016. Lewis led the Patriots with 896 rushing Tues., Aug. 7 �������9:50 a.m. – Noon yards in 2017, and his 4.98-yard rushing average ranked second among all running backs. Sat., Aug. 11 . 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Quarterback Blaine Gabbert, (Arizona Cardinals), guard Kevin Pam- Sun., Aug. 12 �������9:50 a.m. – Noon phile (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), linebacker Will Compton (Washington Wed., Aug. 15 . 9:50 a.m. – Noon....with Buccaneers Redskins) and defensive lineman Bennie Logan (Kansas City Chiefs) are Thurs., Aug. 16 . 9:50 a.m. – Noon....with Buccaneers among the additional veteran free agent acquisitions entering their first Ti- tans training camp. Training camp also provides an opportunity for diamonds in the rough to shine and earn a roster spot—perhaps more so in 2018 than at any other ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ time in the last decade. The 2018 Titans enter training camp with 23 rookie free agents on the roster (as of July 20), their highest number since 2005, when they had 25 rookie free agents report to camp. They have not had more than 15 undrafted rookies on the camp roster since 2006 (17). Radio listeners can tune to the Titans Radio Network for regular updates, Rookies and veterans alike will have all of training camp and four pre- including Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone. season contests to earn a spot on the team, but roster cuts loom. The NFL Additionally, fans can follow the team through its social media plat- mandates that teams go from a limit of 90 players to a maximum of 53 on forms: Facebook (@Titans), Twitter (@Titans), Instagram (@Titans) and Saturday, Sept. 1. Clubs are allowed to form a practice squad of up to 10 Snapchat (nfltitans). Social media users also are encouraged to contribute players the following day. to the conversation using hashtag #TitansCamp. MARIOTA LEADS OFFENSE AFTER HEALTHY OFFSEASON VRABEL'S FIRST CAMP AS HEAD COACH In his fourth NFL season, quarterback Marcus Mariota is charged with Titans fans attending training camp will get their first look at the team picking up LaFleur's playbook and guiding the offense. He will do so with under Mike Vrabel, who was named the 19th head coach in franchise his- the benefit of a complete, healthy offseason, a luxury he did without the tory on Jan. 20 by Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk. previous year due to injury. Vrabel and his staff, which includes new coordinators Dean Pees The former No. 2 overall draft pick won 20 games as a starter from (defense) and Matt LaFleur (offense), put the players through a voluntary 2015 through 2017. It was the most by any quarterback in his first three nine-week offseason program from April through June. The team then seasons with the franchise since George Blanda joined the Oilers as a 10- scheduled a six-week break before the start of camp.