Workouts With Buccaneers Full of Meaningful Matchups

NASHVILLE – Taylor Lewan did not have to search he recesses of his mind to find a meaningful moment from the last time the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers conducted joint training camp workouts. The memory – from three years ago – was front and center.

“(Jason Pierre-Paul), the first day of practice a couple years ago, put an absolutely blistering move on me in one-on-ones,” Lewan said last week. “… I went one way. He went that way and then he … I was caught in a damn blender for a second.”

Both players are still with their respective teams. Lewan ultimately earned his third straight Pro Bowl invitation in the season that followed theuir training camp encounter. Pierre-Paul made his third Pro Bowl, his first in eight seasons, in 2020.

Their matchups when they happen (Lewan is still on a controlled workload following reconstructive knee surgery early last season) will be among the more compelling ones this week when the Titans and Buccaneers conduct two days of joint workouts (Wednesday and Thursday) ahead of a preseason contest (Saturday).

But they won’t be the only ones. Tennessee is two years removed from an appearance in the AFC Championship game and fresh off its first division title in 12 years. Tampa Bay is the reigning Super Bowl champion and returns virtually all the key performers from that championship run.

“Those guys, they’re Super Bowl champions for a reason,” Lewan said. “They’re an extremely talented team everywhere, at every position. It’s going to be a good time to go down there and gauge where we are all at and what we need to work on.”

Here are some other matchups that should be worth watching during the practices and the game.

CB Jackrabbit Jenkins vs. QB Tom Brady: Early indications are that Jenkins has transformed the Titans’ secondary with his unrelenting competitiveness in practice. He treats every play in practice as if it’s one in a game and does not concede anything. Regardless of which of the Buccaneers’ receivers he covers on a given play, often it will be Brady who throws the pass. Brady, of course, has won seven Super Bowls and a well-earned reputation as one of the most competitive players at any position.

TE Anthony Firkser vs. ILB Lavonte David: There is a lot of optimism about what Firkser can do with expanded responsibilities after three seasons in the shadows of Delanie Walker and Jonnu Smith. David is one of the premier linebackers of this generation and one of only two players over the last nine seasons to have at least 10 interceptions in addition to 1,000 tackles and 20 sacks. If Firkser consistently can get open against a player like David, it will say a lot about how much he might be able to contribute to the offense this season.

LG Rodger Saffold vs. DL Ndamukong Suh: Saffold was a second-round pick in 2010 and has played 145 games (142 starts) in his career, including at least 15 out of 16 each of the last five seasons. His mobility and athleticism at 6-foot-5, 325 pounds has helped make Tennessee’s running game go the last two seasons. Suh was the second overall pick in 2010, has played (and started) 174 out of a possible 176 games and is a three-time All-Pro. Two well-established vets who have faced the best the NFL has to offer will use the other as a serious means of gauging their preparedness for a 12th year in the league.

CB Kristian Fulton vs. Mike Evans: During the 2018 joint practices, which took place in Nashville, Evans got the better of things with Logan Ryan more often than not. At 6-foot-5, 231 pounds, Evans presents a physical challenge like few others at his position. The Titans’ decision last year not to re-sign Ryan was made, in part, out of a desire to get younger, faster and more athletic at the position. Then they used a second-round pick on Fulton, who is in position to be a starter in his second season. No one will give a better indication of how ready he is for the job than Evans.

Add us as a preferred source on Google