The Tennessee Titans are banking on second year receiver
Taywan Taylor taking a big leap forward in 2018. The former Hilltopper struggled
to consistently find the field last year
http://www.tennesseetitansteamonline.com/taylor-lewan-jersey , but appears set for a big role with a new staff in place. Taylor showed us why
in the early portions of today’s joint practice with the Buccaneers. First,
Taylor won a deep ball by breaking off his route and leaping back over a
defender for the grab. There aren’t many questions about his speed and ability
to get deep, but it’s good to see him pull in a contested ball like this. Here
you see Taylor working in the intermediate and coming away with another win.And
finally you see him winning on a slant route after selling the go route. To be
fair, the defensive backs are setup to fail in these one on one situations.
However, Taylor did what he was supposed to do. We probably unfairly pigeonholed
him as just a slot guy last season. He’s been handling outside work with success
so far in camp. It’s even been speculated that he could be the Titans’ version
of Sammy Watkins, which could prove to be valuable to other receivers on the
team working in the intermediate.Having that speed element is something the
Titans haven’t had in some time. Hopefully Taylor continues his progress and
becomes a consistent winner downfield for Marcus Mariota. Reggie McKenzie never
planned to unload Khalil Mack.Mack had been the foundation of the Oakland
Raiders defense ever since McKenzie drafted him fifth overall in 2014, and the
plan had always been to build the franchise around Mack and quarterback Derek
Carr.One year after signing Carr to a long-term extension, the Raiders traded
Mack to the Chicago Bears on Saturday for a package that included two
first-round picks. The deal came after the two sides were unable to bridge a
vast gap in initial offers made before the start of the new league year in
March, with Mack willing to extend his holdout until the new deal came."My whole
thought process was how to get Khalil in here," McKenzie said. "Absolutely, it
was here at the end
http://www.tennesseetitansteamonline.com/wesley-woodyard-jersey , it was in the final hour that it kind of just hit and it hit hard and heavy. It
was not the plan to trade him at all."Oakland will get first-round selections in
2019 and 2020, a sixth-rounder next year and a third-rounder in 2020. Oakland
also included its second-round selection in 2020 and a conditional fifth-rounder
that year.It's a steep price but Mack is one of the game's top defensive
players. The move came as a bit of a shock to some of Mack's former
teammates.Carr tweeted "No way" and added: "#RaiderNation we feel your pain
trust me but we need you next Monday night!" Oakland linebacker Bruce Irvin made
his feelings clear with a profane post. He later wrote, "What a shock. Now move
on and win.. time to beat the Rams!!""It's going to sting with them, as players
protecting themselves," McKenzie said. "That's the way it should be. They're
going to miss Khalil. I'm going to miss Khalil. We're all going to miss Khalil.
Let's make that point known now. But we all will move on also.'Mack is a
two-time All-Pro and the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Mack has played
in every game for Oakland since being drafted fifth overall in 2014, with 231
primary tackles, 40? sacks and nine forced fumbles.Since entering the league,
Mack leads all players with 185? quarterback pressures and ranks second with 68
tackles for loss, according to SportRadar.But Mack never formed a relationship
with new coach Jon Gruden, who left the broadcast booth to return to the
sideline for a second stint in Oakland back in January. Mack held out for the
entire offseason and preseason instead of playing under the final year of his
rookie deal that would have earned him $13.8 million.Gruden had called Mack
Oakland's best player but decided to go in a different direction rather than
give another player a contract worth more than $20 million a year after Carr got
a lucrative extension last summer. He then agreed to a six-year, $141 million
extension with the Bears that guarantees him $90 million."We will pay top
dollar
http://www.tennesseetitansteamonline.com/dennis-kelly-jersey ," McKenzie said. "We just couldn't get around to giving Khalil what he wanted. We
will pay top dollar to our top players. We just could not get it worked out for
Khalil. That's just the way it is, the way it went. When it seemed like it was
going that way, we seized the opportunity to go ahead and make the trade."The
move was the biggest on a busy cutdown day that saw the Raiders waive receiver
Martavis Bryant just over four months after trading a third-round pick to
Pittsburgh for him; acquire backup quarterback AJ McCarron from Buffalo for a
2019 fifth-round pick; deal 2017 seventh-round safety Shalom Luani to Seattle
for a 2019 seventh-round pick; and place cornerback Daryl Worley on the
suspended list after he got a four-game ban Saturday for violating the NFL's
policies on substance abuse and personal conduct.Among the other notable players
cut were 2015 second-round defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. and 2016
fourth-round quarterback Connor Cook. Edwards' release means the Raiders now
have none of their second-round picks from 2015-17 on the current roster, having
previously cut ties with 2016 defensive tackle Jihad Ward and 2017 safety Obi
Melifonwu.The Raiders also got nothing out of the third-round pick dealt to the
Steelers for Bryant, who dealt with injuries in training camp and has had
several off-field issues in his career.The other players cut Saturday were
receivers Marcell Ateman, Saeed Blacknall and Isaac Whitney; tight ends Marcus
Baugh, Pharoah Brown and Paul Butler; running backs James Butler and Ryan
Yurachek; linebackers Jason Cabinda, James Cowser and Azeem Victor; defensive
backs Jarell Carter, Antwuan Davis, Antonio Hamilton, Dallin Leavitt
http://www.tennesseetitansteamonline.com/kenny-vaccaro-jersey , Quincy Mauger, Raysean Pringle and Shareece Wright; defensive linemen Connor
Flagel, Shakir Soto and Gabe Wright; and offensive linemen Cameron Hunt, Denver
Kirkland, Jordan Simmons, Jylan Ware, Oday Aboushi and James Stone.The Raiders
also placed defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes on the physically unable to
perform list as he recovers from a torn ACL in last season's finale.Kicker Eddy
Pineiro and running back Chris Warren III were both placed on injured reserve,
and cornerback Dexter McDonald was waived with an injury designation.The Raiders
also cut E.J. Manuel after the 53-man roster was finalized to make room for
McCarron to be their backup quarterback. Manuel played well in the finale
against Seattle on Thursday night, but too many turnovers earlier in the
preseason led to the decision to get McCarron instead.
