 This is the OTP presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans celebrating 76 years of providing Tennesseans with high-quality health coverage at an affordable rate. Visit FBHP.com to learn about their history in Tennessee. With Amy Wells I'm Mike Keith winding to the end of the preseason. Does it feel to you as if this preseason has gone in like hyperspeed? Hyperspeed. It feels like we just started training camp and we were all just yeah football's back and I still very much feel like yeah football's back. I'm not training camp tired and I can't believe that now we're just running right into the regular season. So training camp is over the Titans will play preseason game number three Friday night at Nissan Stadium 7 15 central time kickoff 6 o'clock airtime on Titans radio any of the great Titans radio stations in your area you're back on Titans countdown this week I'm gonna be in the booth I'm so excited yeah that's really why I'm so fired up I think I'm excited to be at the stadium for a game not watching on TV listening to Titans radio actually participating in Titans radio I'm excited to be back do you and Rhett and coach Mack have a good pregame show plan I think we have a pretty solid pregame show pack or plan pregame show plan yes it's packed full of stuff good there's going to be a lot of different a lot of different stories that are being told we have a ton to talk about with coach Mack of course it's gonna be a pretty pretty legit show and it's a little bit longer so you get a little more bang for your buck which we also like that's good date wise of course Friday night is the final preseason game yes the weekend is kind of calm Monday the team gets back to work to a certain extent and then the cuts will be taking place on Monday and Tuesday maybe even some over the weekend because you have to be down to 53 players on Tuesday at 3 o'clock yes central time yes alright so here a couple important notes to understand if you are going to put a player on injured reserve with the ability to return that player must be on your initial 53 at 3 o'clock on Tuesday or else if they're put on IR now they're out for the year okay so they have to be on that initial 53 and then once that clears then you're able to move them to the eligible to return list they could return as soon as four games that's a very good clarification to make my thank you the next day you're able to start signing players to the practice squad practice squad 16 players six of those may be vested veterans one note that we think that you need to know is there's been a lot of talk about tight end Thomas Otakoya and Thomas has improved dramatically from a year ago his blocking has been excellent if Thomas Otakoya ends up on the practice squad he does not count against the 16 he is an extra based on the fact that he is an international player okay and each team is allowed one I I think that's right but I don't know that I don't know that part I don't know that every team has an international player right but I think you are allocated a spot for one yes so you can do that so you would think that you know that may be something that they choose to utilize and or he could make the 53 right who knows it's exciting it is exciting the Titans first game is Sunday September 10th at New Orleans at noon central time the Titans will then play home for the Chargers September 17 at Cleveland September 24 Cincinnati October 1 at Indianapolis October 8 maybe Jonathan Taylor's not there anymore fingers crossed maybe and then Baltimore in London 8 30 a.m. central time on Sunday October the 15th NFL meetings take place the following Tuesday and Wednesday October 17 and 18 in New York City the Titans obviously have a buy the weekend after London the weekend of October 22 October the 29th the Titans play the Falcons at Nissan Stadium that's one of the games where the Titans will wear the Oilers uniforms yes and then Halloween 3 o'clock central time that is the trade deadline that is also the day before the Titans will leave for Pittsburgh to play Thursday night football against the Steelers on Thursday November the 2nd so those are just a few dates to just keep in mind that's where we're headed that is where we are headed at this point man that's gonna be there is there is much to come there is but one way to prepare Duncan I see I was gonna try and guess I didn't want to be wrong it's always game on with Duncan so grab a coffee and kick off the action whether that's drinking a cup of coffee on your way to the game or figuring out the roster or watching the game on TV Duncan is always there to help you get your game on just like the pros we need to be at our best come game time that's why Duncan is the most important part of your game day ritual because it's always the best call for football America runs on Duncan okay so you get to keep 53 you sure do yes I have played the game oh my I have played the game about how many roster spots I'm sure of going in to Friday nights preseason game how many roster spots how many players that I am sure that will be on the roster okay what's that number 38 38 yes now I know several more guys will be on the roster but if you ask me am I a hundred percent sure no about other people other than those 38 so you've got 38 100% positive well you've got a couple more probably I mean I've got probably a dozen probabilities okay I'm like coach Mack that he said on the Monday edition of the OTP I think they probably have three or four roster spots legitimately available maybe okay is that encouraging to you that a lot of it seems as though a lot of these people are already in the building it's encouraging but it's also encouraging to me about the overall hunger of this thing right now because at this time a year ago I probably would have had five more guys that I was sure about positively sure okay here's the thing and I tried to take it from this standpoint am I you know Deandre Hopkins is going to be on the roster correct that means that's not a that's not up for debate no that is a statement of Ryan Tannehill is going to be on the roster Derek Henry is going to be on the roster chicken cock was going to be on the roster I mean these are not outlandish statements of not meant to be oh man that's a revelation so you don't have a bunch of hot takes on there I have no hot takes I actually eliminated coldest roster I actually eliminated some guys that I might have hot takes from it's a matter of fact I mean I'm not sure that the new kicker Michael Badgley will be on the roster but I know a kicker will be on the roster so I included that in the number okay so you went with the position not the I've got 18 offense 17 defense and three specialists okay so well I mean that that's you know that's not a lot and that's thinking I believe there are three quarterbacks on this roster I agree with that I yes I mean we've talked about that consistently I just you know they just drafted will leave us in the second round Jim White said it earlier this spring and it sort of caused a hubbub when he said he knows will leave us is going to be on the roster it's like they just traded up to take him with the second pick in the second round he's going to be on the roster right you know yeah I don't think that is that is breaking news I think that's what you would do right well your second round Malik Willis has done a nice job I feel like he's going to be on the roster that to me you know but maybe I'm wrong you know maybe I'm wrong about some of these I think the quarterback thing seems to be a pretty sure that feels that way to me yeah that the Tennessee Titans well here's one where I was stuck which of the backup offensive linemen do they yeah I mean here here's Nicholas Petit frayer he's not going to be on the opening day roster correct he goes to the suspended list so he doesn't count maybe Dylan radens could come off of PUP and maybe he's one of the nine offensive linemen but as we record this edition of the OTP he's still on the PUP so we don't know you know those are the sorts of things I have five wide receivers three tight ends the starting five offensive linemen three quarterbacks and two tailbacks can I ask a procedural question sure how does PUP calculate into your final your roster calculate okay you would stay on physically unable to perform you would just stay on that list does that count against the 53 not count against the 53 and you can come off of it but then you have to create a spot for correct okay correct okay so I mean they're obviously gonna keep more than five offensive linemen yes but who are the rest of the guys do they keep Xavier Newman and Corey Levin and Justin Murray and Adam Ruppsich or Jordan Ruse or Jalen Duncan or I mean part of this has to do with what your makeup is going to be and part of that has to do with health yeah and yeah because what if you have a center who gets dinged up and you think he could be back in a week or two but then you need to keep two centers available in case he can't play in those first couple games you know those are the things that kind of factor in right now it's why looking at the wide receivers is such a big deal because do Birx and Phillips get back for week one and if if it's not week one if it's week two that's very different than week six oh huge and that completely changes the the way the scales balance well and here's another way if you're on the roster in week one and you are a vested veteran then as a vested veteran you were entitled to your entire salary for that particular year so there's a bit of a money game oh there's totally a money game and let's say let's say that you're a talented young player who was drafted later was an undrafted and the team wants to put you on practice squad but they know they will have to expose you to waivers and that's a dangerous game in and of itself yeah the Ligaret blunt Jack Doyle stories so here's that here's the thing do you keep a player like that on the active roster in week one with the idea that they their salary is not guaranteed for the year and that in week two or week three you can put them on waivers teams will already have full practice squads and that you can then re-sign them to your practice squad because everybody is not looking for a practice squad at that time as they will be from August 29th into August 30th next week right so do you hold on to that guy in shaping this roster and say we don't want to lose him yeah but but you also have to play to win the game but you got to play to win the game but you you're thinking this guy may not help us at New Orleans but we do not want to expose him to waivers at this point because we don't think we can get him back through and we think he has upside we want to get him through to the practice squad at some point but we think if we do it now we have a problem you have to be really healthy in order to do that yeah and and I think that's where I think that's where I start to panic is what it's the health factor and I think that the Titans specifically have seen this movie now twice where you try to build obviously the best roster that you can possibly build but you've got to think about depth and you've got to think about the financial aspects of what happens when you need to start bringing in more people and you have to start thinking about it you're playing the short game and you're also playing an incredibly long game at the same exact time well but you can't take a guy I mean the legaret blunt situation is a great example running back comes in here clearly is NFL worthy they want to keep him desperately he has earned a spot on the roster but they don't have enough healthy linebackers to play in the game yeah because you got to cover kicks you've got so they they get Patrick Bailey and Tim Shaw mm-hmm and end up waving legaret blunt thinking we can get him back for practice squad or thinking dear lord please let him get through so he can get back to us he doesn't Tampa claims him right and he goes on and he has a very nice career mm-hmm again if you're not desperate then you could do that if the team had been okay health-wise at all spots if you have one injury it's one thing but if you have a couple of injuries at a spot do you do you do that Mike I wish people could see because I think you can actually see smoke coming out of my ear this is we try not to do too many of these which is sort of that inside baseball version of the OTP but I think we're at the point now where if you're listening to the official Titans podcast understanding all of the dynamics because we've all had all of these players that the Titans if they had a good training camp they had two very solid preseason games there have been lots of young guys that you know have done a good job right and you're thinking we're gonna keep this guy and we're gonna keep this guy and we're gonna keep this guy and if you keep three quarterbacks which everybody seems to think they'll do then you're losing a roster spot somewhere yeah either you go 26 offensive players 24 defensive players and three specialists or you go 25 25 and 3 and remember this the third quarterback doesn't come out of your 48 on game day no which is good but the other two guys have to be unavailable for that player to go in the game and the third quarterback has to be on your active roster you cannot call him up from the practice squad right before the game so you have to have three active quarterbacks now you can call a quarterback up from the practice squad to be the second quarterback you could do that but to be the the emergency quarterback the only way you can do that is if that player is on your active roster which it makes sense to do if like the Titans you have three suitable candidates that is a caveat that I didn't well there are a lot of caveats may you know somebody has to be on on the initial 53 to be put on the IR able to be returned what how you get through to the practice squad the salaries being guaranteed because the last thing you want is to have a somebody get a salary that's guaranteed and you realize you don't need them in week three or you bring in a guy and you bring in a guy in week two or week three and then he's going to play for you for five or six weeks and so then you're just paying him week to week because it all adds up and part of the issue that the Titans had a year ago is they had extra money set aside for the season which John Robinson always did right that money was gone that money was gone by the time we got to November because they'd had so many entries and had to sign so many players right and so I mean I guess that's the that's the long game that you have to think about is okay so what happens if worst case scenario we have another situation where you're needing to add people every week right but at the same time you want the best players on your team you do you want to make sure that you have plenty of depth you do you want like I mean how many times have I walked into your office and like this guy makes the team it's like okay who then who doesn't right and that's the that's the constant bouncing at that's what makes this time of year so fun but also just so I mean crazy because there's so many different elements that can go into whether or not a guy makes a team that almost have nothing to do with on field performance if you have a bunch of guys who are all performing pretty well you can't keep them all you just cannot keep every single player and that's what makes this so frustrating well I think part of the gamble going forward has to be you talk about short game and long game part of the gamble has to be is what is the roster that is going to give you the best chance to beat New Orleans because that's the first thing you do right but from there it's like I have them right now with eight defensive backs on the roster okay that's a lot it is a lot considering that you've got all these young guys who've played so well and you're saying well I mean if that's the case you're only keeping two maybe three of them yeah and if you only keep three of them or if you do keep three of them that means you can't keep as many inside linebackers or as many outside linebackers or as many defensive linemen I mean you've got to pick a spot it's the beauty of rosters it's the beauty of salary cap it's because nobody nobody in the NFL will have proper depth at every position because you can't you can't you physically cannot do it but do you gamble and say it would be harder for us to find defensive backs later and keep three of these young guys then it is to find one later okay yeah well I mean then you have to play the game do we have a better shot at finding a linebacker if we need it probably so do we have a better shot at finding an edge rusher or defensive linemen I don't know about an edge rusher I mean a defensive linemen yes they've done that yeah so it's but it's that game and and the other thing too is some of these veterans in all 32 camps will leave and will know that they're gone and and all they know their doings going home for a week right because they it's like hey if something doesn't happen we're gonna call you on September the 11th and get you to come back because then we'll we'll have you join the team and then and they know how the game works the agents know how the game works well and that's a whole other aspect of this is while the Tennessee Titans are sitting making these complicated decisions about players who are very capable of playing in the National Football League or who have already proven that they are able to play at this level and still are going to not be a part of this team for whatever reason all 31 other teams are doing the same exact thing so all of a sudden beyond all of these decisions that you're making you know that there's about to be just a monsoon of available talent and humans that's about to you're about to have access to and even if you love a bunch of these guys what if you love someone more what if yeah I mean what if you love someone more and then there's that set them free free free no it was a song I'm sorry I figured mm-hmm I don't know it but I'm sure sure it's good song stang was involved oh I like staying yes and here's what's interesting too about the veterans who won't be on a roster in week one mm-hmm so they're saying oh yeah terrible I don't have a job but I'm gonna get a call well if a team has a real problem let's say they have two safeties go down and you're a safety well they don't have to guarantee your salary for you know the rest of the season if you're not on the roster in week one but if they desperately need a safety your agent can probably get them to guarantee it and oh by the way you might have get a little extra money because maybe they need you so badly they don't want you to go somewhere else right I mean so so those guys by sitting out a week can end up with leverage saying they're three teams who desperately need a safety now who's gonna give me the best deal yep you get to pick where you go holy smokes my yeah this is what makes this game so fun I think so yeah I mean I mean really it's there's so many moving parts of so many things to take into consideration there are so many different elements that go into the construction of an NFL roster and it's crazy it is crazy oh you know it's not crazy what seat geek I love this seat geek now the official ticketing partner of the Tennessee Titans I've got this app I use the app this week you did I did it's very easy the deal is finalized seat geek is the newest member of the Titans family if you haven't heard the name yet get used to it because you'll be hearing it a lot more this season whether you're buying or selling tickets to Titans games or any other live event in Nashville seat geek is the place to do it seat geek the new official ticketing partner of the Tennessee Titans so Titans fans can fan yes what did you do did you go to a concert you go to a show do something fun no someone is able to use my tickets for Friday night and yeah and so sending friends to the game sending friends to the game Michael Badgley is back here yes and the the Michael Badgley story is one of the more interesting ones he was on the team for the season opener against Arizona in 2021 yes do you remember how this went down I remember it being a story I don't remember the details of the story all right so we've been through the season of kickers 2019 yes we went through a season with Steven Gaskowski and Sam slowman good job slow man job slow man great job slow man great job slow man that was it and so that was 2020 yeah and so the Titans decide that they are going to get settled at kicker and they settle on Sam Ficken Sam Ficken is going to be the kicker Friday in practice before the Arizona game Sam Ficken pulls a groin muscle yes which as a kicker not good it's not good nope he's out and Jim Wyatt and I were standing there and we're watching practice and he hit a ball and it was as if he kicked the ground it didn't look right it's weird and then he he may have kicked one more but he was like not right and sure enough he has a groin injury so they pick up the phone they call Michael Badgley he gets in here the next day kicks against Arizona misses a field goal misses an extra point and they ended up cutting him and saying signing Randy Bullock to the practice squad then Randy Bullock was elevated for the game at Seattle and he wins the game at Seattle with a field goal yes in overtime yep I remember that so Michael Badgley leaves and we see him again later that year in Indianapolis he kicked well for the Colts they decided not to re-sign him the Bears bring him in for one game and he does okay and then then he's gone and then he ends up in Detroit and he kicks for them for 12 games and he does okay pretty well and Detroit decides not to bring him back to camp on July the 20th of this year so he goes to Washington and he's sort of competing with Joey Sly but he only appeared in one game it sounds like they wanted Sly to be the guy and so Sly wins the job and Michael Badgley is waved on August the 20th so he's waved on Sunday Titans sign him on Tuesday we're watching practice before they hold that blue and white scrimmage right and there is a new number six who does not look like Caleb Shudak they have different body type well he's considerably bigger Caleb Shudak is five six or five seven and all day yeah Badgley is close to six feet tall so we're like okay it's not the same guy they also cut Trey Wolfe yep so Badgley has a chance to win the job right now and you know he'll get some time the nice thing for Badgley is he will get the next few days to see if he can prove it they would love for him to prove it and we'll see the interesting thing about Badgley is he has not kicked off regularly since his rookie year that has not been something he has done what do you mean he's not kicked off regularly regularly like consistently no okay he hasn't been used as a kickoff man regularly since his rookie year I thought you meant like his motion was irregular somehow okay I'm there with I'm so has he improved in this area does he do something with his kickoff to the Titans want to cover kickoffs this year right and can he kick the high directional kick and the way we saw him cover kicks in Minnesota maybe that's the case we'll see this is very interesting yeah the kick the the kicker Chronicles for the Tennessee Titans Chronicles have really been been something over the last couple of years well Bullock was not consistent from long range right that is something that has plagued Badgley earlier in his career but he has gotten better he has been making more long field goals in his last couple of years interesting note he does have a career long of 59 yards that's good so he's made a 59 yarder in his career so it's not a matter of him not having the leg it's just it's consistently having the leg he has made 94 of 115 field goal attempts what's the percentage on that 94 of 115 is 83 I think somewhere in that percent somebody check that math that seems right that's pretty good for off the top of your head yeah pretty good yeah thanks yep and that's and here's the thing that's average in the NFL really 83 percent is average 83 84 percent is average well I mean you think about it they're professional kickers yeah I guess that's true how to make 84 percent yeah I mean it just it seems like there's a little bit of a murmur with that like where's the drama well I mean if this had been 30 years ago a kicker may making 84 percent of his field goals would have been in the MVP voting yeah but today you know it's just standard it's standard bigger faster stronger more accurate well you have you have these athletes who have grown up specializing in this they have a specialized holder they have a specialized snapper it no longer are the backup quarterbacks are a wide receiver serving as their holder right I mean it's just a thing yeah and I mean we've had some good ones over the years yes you let's get back to that but we've had too many of them in recent years telling you kickers are like oxygen you don't know you need it until you don't have it wow it's true put that on a t-shirt Oprah it's just yeah it's something you don't even think about the Snickers hot seat is I guess Snickers absolutely for that but I mean you don't you don't even think about it doesn't even cross your mind until you don't have one and then it's like the world is ending blammo yeah all right so Amy Wells is back on Titans countdown Friday night 6 central on Titans radio before Tennessee New England from Nissan Stadium at 7 15 so excited good back in a stadium we're glad you're gonna be back it's gonna be great there's flag football at halftime is there yes oh man this is getting better I love it when the kids play that was pretty neat than playing in Minnesota at halftime on the field that was pretty exciting I love it when they do that stuff that's one of my favorite things and we want to say something too before we before we leave about Caleb Farley and him losing his dad and that tragic explosion in Morrisville North Carolina we got to know his dad a little bit and what a class act and for Caleb and for his family we are you know just beyond sorry I mean it's just a tragedy that you can't even begin to consider to see Caleb handle that the way that he did I think makes people understand some of the character that he has which is why the Titans know even though the beginning to his on field career has been rocky that he's gonna keep battling and he's gonna keep fighting for it because he's he's got that kind of stuff yeah yeah he is he's a human worth investing in because he's just I mean the stuff that you dream of when it comes to a guy with grit and dedication and just a good heart he's a good person and I mean to his whole family just you can't even conceive of something like that happening and it's just heartbreaking and him losing his mom back when he was at Virginia Tech and just for that whole family I mean it's just absolutely crushing I think you know at a moment like this when you see this young fellow going through this it puts things in in proper perspective about you know he's doing a job and and hopefully when he comes back he'll be healthy enough to to get active and produce but for right now the most important thing is for him to take care of himself and for him to take care of his family and very proud of the coaching staff and the players here the members of the organization for how they are choosing to support him through all of this as well absolutely and it's a part of the fiber of this team is having that perspective trying and knowing that yes this is a job it's a job we take very seriously we want to give a hundred and twenty percent at every possible time there are things that are bigger than football there are things that are more important than your job and giving him the space and the support and the encouragement to go take care of what he needs to do take the time that he needs and then come back and we'll figure everything else out but you focus on your family and taking care of your own right now that's exactly right and makes proud of Mike Vrable and the culture that he has created and and back to ownership as well because it is a very genuine sort of thing I mean there are there are a lot of people walking around Ascension St. Thomas sports park right now really feeling it for Caleb Farley and his family in this way yeah this is this is a team an organization that's bound together by more than just the game right and you don't get to see that very often we haven't seen that every year no definitely not but this is a year where you can feel it in the locker room you can feel that the words they're saying are genuine you can see it out on the field you just you know that there's something binding this team together that's bigger than just a shared career path and it's it's awesome to be a part of it's an amazing thing to watch and in moments like this when that's kind of tested it's even better to see these guys kind of show up to support someone who needs it for Jamie Wells I'm Mike Key thank you for joining us for the OT