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Titans Expected to Bring Back Cam Ward’s Miami Teammate

The Tennessee Titans could link Cam Ward up with his college teammate on the practice squad.
Jeremy Brener|
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Xavier Restrepo goes through drills during training camp.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Xavier Restrepo goes through drills during training camp. | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

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Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are beginning to assemble their practice squad for the upcoming season, which will mostly consist of players that were in training camp but did not make the initial 53-man roster.

Titans insider Justin Melo is reporting that the team plans on bringing Xavier Restrepo to the practice squad if he clears the waiver wire.

The Titans brought in Restrepo partially because of his previous work with No. 1 overall pick and rookie quarterback Cam Ward at Miami, but head coach Brian Callahan likes who he is as a player as well.

"He might not necessarily be the biggest or the fastest player that's probably ever come out of Miami, but he's been incredibly productive, and he's found ways to play football the right way," Callahan said during OTA's.

"So he'll start out as a slot player for us, and he'll have every chance to compete, just like everybody else will."

The Titans want to build their offense around what Ward was doing at Miami last season, so having Restrepo on board even on the practice squad will help the offense as a whole.

"Watch a lot of tape on Cam, and you see all the plays that Xavier made over his career in particular this past year," Callahan said. "All the players on that offense we had a little bit more familiarity with, just because of the nature of how much film you watch when you're evaluating the quarterback."

Restrepo missed the final cut for the Titans after the team opted to keep Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett Van Jefferson, Bryce Oliver and rookies Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor, both of whom were fourth-round picks.

Restrepo was always facing long odds to be with the Titans during the regular season due to his size and speed. He stands just 5-10 and ran a 4.83-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, which explains why the all-time leader in receiving yards at Miami was unable to get drafted.

The Titans will finalize their practice squad over the next few days ahead of the season opener against the Denver Broncos.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several On SI sites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid and resides in Central Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

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