McNair watches practice, Fisher says he’ll play against Green Bay
McNair rested during practice on Sunday as part of the Titans’ plan to keep him fresh for the regular season. He only took part in a couple passing drills Monday and watched the rest of the session.
Fisher said McNair worked out inside the team’s building where he stretched and worked out before joining the team on their indoor field.
“He is not real crazy about this surface right now, so we held him out,” Fisher said. “He is fine, he worked yesterday. There aren’t any problems.”
McNair, who stayed busy during practice talking with coaches, was not available in the locker room after practice.
Chris Brown returned to practice, but running backs Travis Henry (turf toe) and Jarrett Payton (concussion, neck strain) sat out. Tight end Ben Troupe caught passes from an assistant coach, but linebacker Cody Spencer, fullback Robert Douglas and tight end Erron Kinney did not practice.
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ADDING EXPERIENCE:@ Drew Bennett finally has someone older than him on the Titans’ receiving corps with the addition of six-year veteran Troy Edwards. Tennessee signed Edwards after Jacksonville released him Sunday, and the receiver who was the 13th pick overall in 1999 by Pittsburgh joined the Titans in practice Tuesday.
Coach Jeff Fisher said Edwards had been very productive, and the Titans could use more experience on a receiving corps.
Bennett is going into his fifth NFL season. Tyrone Calico is going into his third season but essentially missed all of 2004 and has only two starts. Then the next three receivers are all rookie draft picks.
“Whether it works out remains to be seen. The little we saw here on the practice field was very impressive. He is an experienced guy, he can catch and run. He is strong and he has been very productive in the slot,” Fisher said of Edwards.
Edwards caught 50 passes for 533 yards last season, and he said he plans to fit in and do whatever the Titans need him to do. First, he has to learn his way around the locker room.
But he said he chose to sign with Tennessee because he had such trouble beating the Titans in his three seasons in Pittsburgh and two in Jacksonville.
“This is an up-and-coming young team, a young team, and I feel I fit in here with some experience. I just like Tennessee,” he said.
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DON’T RELAX YET:@ The Titans now have only one kicker on the roster with Monday’s release of Jay Taylor, but coach Jeff Fisher said they haven’t told Rob Bironas that it’s his job because they plan to keep looking.
That leaves Bironas working to earn his first NFL roster spot and ignoring the pressure to keep making kicks.
“The pressure’s always going to be there. It’s going to be there whether you’re trying to make a team, impress a coach or just trying to get some time in front of somebody,” he said.
Bironas, whose family lives in Louisville, Ky., said he’s got confidence in himself and his kicks.
“I’m worried about each kick each day,” he said.
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COACH’S CHALLENGE:@ Draft picks usually have the safety of a couple seasons in the NFL to earn their way. Rich Gardner’s time may be coming to an end.
“He’s on the fence right now, and he needs to do some things on special teams and when given the opportunity,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “There’s no guarantees in life nor here considering the numbers we have at the cornerback position.”
Gardner was a third-round draft pick in 2004 out of Penn State. He has four tackles this preseason, and he had 10 total tackles with one interception while playing 15 games last season with one start.
But he currently is listed on the third-team behind Tony Beckham and top draft pick Adam “Pacman” Jones. Rookie Vincent Fuller has an edge because he already is working with the first-team defense as their extra defensive back in passing situations.