NASHVILLE – Patience.
When Titans linebacker Cedric Gray reflected on his rookie season, it didn't take him long to come up with an answer for what he learned most.
"The biggest thing that I learned, honestly, has nothing to do with football," Gray said. "I think the biggest thing I learned last year was patience. For me, personally, coming in I had these high expectations, and this, that and a third. And really, I think calming down and learning how to be patient and learning the game more, growing, it is something I learned last year."
A fourth-round pick of the Titans in the 2024 NFL Draft, Gray was sidelined during the first half of the season with a shoulder injury that resulted in him being placed on Injured Reserve.
Gray eventually got healthy, but he still had to wait to get playing time, and snaps.
Gray admitted the waiting wasn't easy.
"It was definitely hard on me," he said. "I've never really had a serious injury before in my life, so that was kind of hard for me miss 10 games. That was definitely a challenge for me. But I think I tried to manage it, and got through it pretty well. I tried to keep high spirits during that time, and keep learning and growing, so when I got back I could take advantage."
Gray ended up playing in seven games in 2024, and he finished the year with 14 tackles on defense, and eight more on special teams. He had an especially productive game at Indianapolis on December 22, when he tallied 11 tackles, and four more on special teams.
Heading into the 2025 season, Gray has his sights set on a starting inside linebacker spot alongside newcomer Cody Barton, who has made a nice early impact on a group that also includes James Williams, Otis Reese, and others.
"Cody has really stepped up as a leader," Gray said. "He is a very smart player. He helps me out a lot, helps James out, helps all of us. And I think we are all continuing to grow, myself, James, Otis and others. Just stepping into more of a leadership role as well."
The 6-foot-2, 234-pound Gray is ready to make a difference himself.
He feels like he's improved in the classroom, and with his speed and strength. He focused on being more flexible this offseason, working on his hips and bending, so he can stay low at all times on the field.
He's motivated, and ready to compete.
"I am definitely highly motivated this year," said Gray, a two-time All-ACC performer at North Carolina who racked up 369 tackles, 30 stops for a loss, 8.5 sacks and five interceptions during a very productive college career. "I feel like I missed out on the opportunity of preseason and training camp (last year) because I got hurt early on in camp, so I am looking forward to that part, because that's where I think I can really grow my game in that area of time.
"I just think I have to keep doing what I am doing, being a smart football player, showing the coaches that I understand what is going on out there, that I can make the adjustments and can make the reads and continue to hone in on my technique, and just be myself.
"I feel like I have the ability and all that stuff, I just have to keep growing, just keep trending upward and I think I'll be fine."
