EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell made a priority call to Tennessee Titans counterpart Mike Vrabel even before the preseason game schedule was released, desiring a hard-nosed opponent with a stout front seven to test his offense in training camp.
Vrabel, meanwhile, welcomed a challenge for his young defensive backs after a season in which the Titans allowed the most passing yards in the league. Facing Vikings star Justin Jefferson, the NFL’s leader in catches and receiving yards last season, would certainly qualify.
Interconference joint practice sessions were the right fit for both O’Connell and Vrabel, who were teammates as part of the 2008 New England Patriots.
“This is going to be some hands-on experience,” Vrabel said. “Just learning different guys’ route crafts, releases and different players at the line of scrimmage. So that can help us to say, ‘OK, let’s make some corrections,’ or, ‘What do we need to adjust?'”
Vrabel spoke to reporters before the two-hour session on a sun-soaked and wind-swept Wednesday at Vikings headquarters, and there’s a reason he offered that from a defensive back’s perspective. The Titans badly need a spike in performance from their secondary this season.
Sean Murphy-Bunting was signed as a free agent to take one cornerback spot opposite fourth-year player Kristian Fulton and with the formidable safety duo of two-time All-Pro Kevin Byard and Minnesota native Amani Hooker. Roger McCreary, the team’s second-round draft pick in 2022, will be pushing for playing time at cornerback as well, and he intercepted Minnesota’s incumbent starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, during a two-minute drill.
“Trying to squeeze one in there into the wind,” O’Connell said. “No excuses. We have to find a way to move the ball and get points right there, but that’s why I love this work.”
There’s another session Thursday. Then the teams face off Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium in the second exhibition game for each. Both teams also have another round of dual workouts next week, when the Titans host the Patriots ahead of their final preseason contest and the Vikings stay home to practice and play against the Arizona Cardinals.
“It’s definitely good to go up against a different defense,” Jefferson said.
The benefit, of course, is mutual.
“Anytime Kristian Fulton and Sean Murphy-Bunting can go up against a competitor like him, it gives us confidence,” Byard said. “You feel like, ‘Hey, if I can cover this guy or if I make a good play on him, I can do it against anybody.’ It’s important. It’s key to go up against top-notch talent like that.”
The biggest downside of the day for the Titans was a concerning injury to wide receiver Treylon Burks, who got up limping badly after catching a deep pass in a one-on-one drill and needed help to get off the field when he was unable to put weight on his left leg.
“You hate seeing that. We’ll find out more information and see what’s really going on, but hopefully he’s going to be all right,” Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. “He seemed obviously upset and understandably so. Our thoughts and prayers are with him right now, and hopefully it’s not too bad.”
Burks, the 18th overall selection of the 2022 draft, had 33 catches for 444 yards and one touchdown as a rookie. He’s paired with Tennessee newcomer DeAndre Hopkins, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, in the starting lineup at wide receiver, after the Titans ranked third-worst in passing yards last season.
Fortunately for both sides, no players had to be pulled out of a drill for initiating a fight or committing some form of unnecessary roughness, which isn’t uncommon across the league during these dual practices, when players are not only cranky from the grind of camp but fired up to compete against someone from another team.
The most obviously intense moments came during a one-on-one special teams coverage drill. The defenses on both sides had the upper hand.
“Just from the eye test, I thought it was really, really good,” Byard said. “We didn’t allow any big plays downfield as a defense. They made some plays, but at the end of the day I feel like we competed our behinds off.”
The visit from the Titans also gave Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah the chance to catch up with his counterpart, Ran Carthon, who’s in his first season in his role. Adofo-Mensah has begun his second year. They worked together from 2017-19 with the San Francisco 49ers.