NASHVILLE – Titans GM Mike Borgonzi and HC Robert Saleh met with reporters today at Vanderbilt Football Health Football Center.
Here's a look at the highlights from the presser, on the same day players reported for training camp. The team's first practice is set for Wednesday at 10:15 a.m.
-The quote if the day came from Saleh, who said: "I've always said that confidence is always projected in the volume of your voice. By the end of training camp, I hope we're loud as shit. That just tells you that we're confident and we know what we're doing."
-Safety Amani Hooker has been activated from the team's Physically Unable to Perform list, per Borgonzi, which means he passed his physical and will be ready for camp.
-Tackle JC Latham remains on the PUP list and is "day-to-day" with a pec strain, Borgonzi said. "He's really worked hard and looks great," Borgonzi said of Latham.
-Saleh said Cam Ward is the team's starting quarterback, and "we'll give Will (Levis) every opportunity, him and Mitchell Trubisky, working for that 2 spot." Borgonzi said it's too early to know how many QBs the team will keep in the final 53-man roster.
-Saleh said he has a general feel about the team as of now, "but we're going to find out about everybody" in camp. "There's countless stories of guys who disappear when pads come on," Saleh said, "and there's countless stories of guys who appear when pads come on."
-Saleh said he feels like he has a good plan for training camp while saying "this will be one of the more difficult, trying camp for our guys." He said there will be "a lot of volume, there will be a lot of contact."
-Regarding injuries, Saleh said if players feel like they're capable of playing on game day, then they should be practicing.
-Borgonzi said the team builds a claim board like a free agency board, and the team is constantly evaluating players across the league.
-Borgonzi said there's a sense of urgency every year to win. "I feel good about the pieces we have here now, the players," he said. "With coach Saleh coming in and his staff. The urgency in this league, it is so competitive. So yeah, we feel the urgency."
-Asked about competition for starting spots, Saleh said in OTAs the coaches split the reps between the 1s, 2s and 3s, and things will be distributed differently in camp, where the 1s and 2s will be split evenly and the 3s will pick up half, knowing they will get extra playing time in the preseason. Saleh said it will be an open competition, and guys will work with different groups to determine who earns spots. Saleh said clear back-ups will get opportunities with the first team because it will help the evaluation process.
-Borgonzi said "we're still hopeful" regarding a potential long-term deal with guard Peter Skoronski. Borgonzi said the organization has had positive conversations with Skoronski's agents.
-Saleh said he's talked to his friend, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, since his car crash earlier this month. Shanahan suffered multiple injuries from the two-car crash on July 14, including cuts to his face that required more than 40 stitches, sources told ESPN. "He's very fortunate," Saleh said. "We're all very fortunate that he's still here. I know, just talking to him and his wife Mandy, what you see now is nowhere near what it was about two weeks ago. Thank God he is OK, thank God his family intact. He is doing great, he looks great – I saw him on FaceTime a couple of days ago. The surgeon did a great job. Not easy for him to go what he went through."
