Jones’ agent says Titans holding up deal

General manager Floyd Reese said he responded to a letter sent by agent Michael Huyghue with a letter of his own, but he doesn’t want to be pen pals. Reese said he was befuddled since they are about $250,000 apart in a five-year deal with about $200,000 difference in guaranteed money.

Now the Titans are bracing for a potentially long holdout with Jones already having missed four days of training camp. Their last holdout, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, missed five days in 2002.

“This deal should’ve been done last night. If you can’t get it done now, yeah, I think you have to brace yourself for a long one. I don’t know what’s going to be the impetus to get us over the hump,” Reese said.

Huyghue said he was waiting to see after failing to have a meeting of the minds but wouldn’t predict a timetable for concluding a deal.

“We are having daily discussions and obviously all geared toward reaching an agreement,” Huyghue said.

Every day that Jones isn’t in camp gives three-year veteran Tony Beckham that much more work with the first-team defense opposite Andre Woolfolk in the spot the Titans would like to see Jones win in training camp.
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RIGHT TACKLE?: Veteran Todd Williams started training camp working with the first-team at right tackle, but the Titans also are trying to work in rookie Michael Roos as well in an open competition to replace Fred Miller.

Roos was the Titans’ second-round pick out of Eastern Washington despite the fact he has only played football for six years. He worked at right tackle with the first-team offensive line Monday afternoon.

“Well, he may be slightly more comfortable on the left, just because he’s used to that,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “But we’re going to work him on the right, because he’s naturally competing there for a spot. We need to be prepared in the event that we do not have Brad (Hopkins) in the opener, we would move him to the left side.”

Hopkins likely faces league punishment after pleading guilty in April to assault from an incident in March when he grabbed his wife’s neck because she wouldn’t stop talking on a cell phone. He is on probation for a year and was ordered into anger management counseling, but his record can be expunged if he completes all the requirements.
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SWITCHING HEROES: Rookie safety Vincent Fuller first watched NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana when he was growing up because he played quarterback. Then along came cornerback Deon Sanders.

“I was definitely looking at him like if I can get up there and do that, I’ll be a pretty good football player,” said Fuller, the Titans’ fourth-round pick out of Virginia Tech.

Sanders wasn’t the reason that Fuller switched positions from offense to defense.

“I just didn’t like getting hit anymore. Once I got out of high school, I was like, `Shoot, I don’t want 295, 300 pounds hitting me. I’m going to get on the field and give some of the punishment instead of taking it,” Fuller said.

He’ll get his chance to be on the same field as Sanders on Sept. 18 when the Baltimore Ravens visit.
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FAMILIAR FACE: Eddie George, the Titans’ all-time leading rusher, has agreed to help broadcast Tennessee’s four exhibitions, which will be broadcast statewide, while he waits for a call from a team needing a running back. George left the Titans last July in a pay dispute and spent the 2004 season with the Dallas Cowboys. He will be working with John Dwyer of WKRN-TV in Nashville.
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INJURY UPDATE: Receiver Courtney Roby hurt his ribs when he collided with cornerback Andre Woolfolk near the end of practice Monday afternoon in a one-minute drill. … The Titans had no word yet on the severity of the injury to defensive lineman Shawn Johnson’s shoulder after he partially dislocated it Sunday.