First-Round Pick Isaiah Wilson Placed on COVID-19 Reserve List
NASHVILLE – One of the Tennessee Titans’ top tacklers as well as their top draft choice are unavailable for the start of training camp.
Coach Mike Vrabel said Tuesday that inside linebacker Jayon Brown will begin the buildup to the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and tackle Isaiah Wilson has been placed on the COVID-19 reserve list.
Tuesday was the official report day for the team’s veterans, although all they did was undergo a coronavirus exam. Players must test negative twice in 72 hours before they may enter the team facility, which Vrabel said has been altered to accommodate social distancing requirements and other NFL-mandated protocols designed to keep players healthy amid the worldwide pandemic.
Wilson, a first-round pick (29th overall), is the only member of the Titans’ 2020 draft class who is not under contract. Under current regulations, however, he was allowed to go through coronavirus testing along with the rest of this year’s rookies when they reported to the team last week.
The COVID-19 reserve list is for players who tested positive or required quarantine because of known exposure to the virus. It is unclear which is the case with Wilson. Vrabel declined to offer any detail and a team spokesman said he did not have the information. In either case, Wilson will be unable to take part in training camp activities until he completes a list of league-mandated protocols – and signs his contract.
The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder out of Georgia is expected to battle for the job as the starting right tackle.
“There is some carryover from the college level, especially playing in a big conference or for a big school,” Vrabel said. “The techniques may be somewhat different, but a lot of the blocking schemes are going to be similar. … He’ll have time to get out on the field.
“… We’re hopeful that we’ll get him up to speed after seeing him in the Zoom meetings [earlier in the offseason] and now having him here. And we’ll go from there.”
Brown was the Titans’ third-leading tackler with a career-high 117 stops in 2019, his first season as a full-time starter.
A shoulder injury limited him to 10 snaps on defense in the playoff victory over New England and caused him to miss the divisional round matchup with Baltimore. He returned to action for the AFC Championship and played 53 of a possible 68 snaps on defense in the loss to Kansas City.
The 2017 fifth-round choice missed two games and parts of others during the regular season with a recurring groin injury.
