NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans practiced Wednesday morning in Music City, then headed out for their longest preseason road trip since the franchise formerly known as the Houston Oilers left Texas in 1997.
Second-year head coach Brian Callahan scheduled not one but two sets of joint practices around back-to-back road games starting Thursday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He sees nine nights away from Nashville as a way to create more of an old training camp vibe for a young team.
“That’s sort of the intent of the whole trip,” Callahan said. “Spend some time, get a chance to grow together, and then get to go play against some other teams.”
Callahan also wants to hear the reviews from the Bucs and then the Atlanta Falcons on what they think of how his team competes. He sees this as a chance for a starting point of what the Titans can be this year.
“And get a chance to do some things as a team on the road, some events together, things like that,” Callahan said. “It’s something I’m really looking forward to. Can’t wait.”
The Titans, who went 3-14 in Callahan’s debut season, will be away from home for more than a week. They won’t practice again in Nashville until Aug. 19 before wrapping up their three-game preseason schedule by hosting the Minnesota Vikings on Aug. 22.
After opening this preseason Saturday night at Tampa Bay, the Titans go to Atlanta for two joint practices before an Aug. 15 game.
Titans left tackle Dan Moore has had only one joint practice in his NFL career, and that was last year when he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers for his fourth pro season. So this will be a bit of a new experience, though Moore is familiar to going away for training camp because the Steelers are preseason regulars at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
“Obviously, we’re on a business trip, but we’ll have some free time, some downtime,” Moore said. “We’ll be in the hotel. Guys can hang out, do stuff together and go places, go eat, whatever. And I think that’s a good time for us to just bond as a team and build chemistry.”
Bonding can only help a franchise that has added 37 free agents, nine rookies through the draft and five more players off waivers through this past Sunday for a total of 51 players in training camp.
Titans safety Quandre Diggs isn’t exactly new after playing eight games for Tennessee last season before going on injured reserve. He didn’t sign this year until Tuesday, though, and the Titans are easing him back into the mix.
Diggs recognizes a lot of faces on the roster, including his cousin, rookie quarterback Cam Ward.
“It’s different when you walk in the locker room and you see your family, like real family,” the three-time Pro Bowl safety said of Ward, the No. 1 overall pick of April’s NFL draft. “And so it was cool.”
Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson has been trying to throw every look possible at Ward to help prep the former University of Miami star for Tennessee’s regular-season opener against the host Denver Broncos on Sept. 7. Now the Titans will get a glimpse of how other NFL defenses might challenge the rookie.
“He’s a grown man to me,” Titans receiver Calvin Ridley said of Ward. “He’s a confident guy, he’s a guy that wants to be good.”