Latest news with #KalelMullings
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Titans 53-Man Roster 2025: The most concerning story nobody is giving enough attention, and glaring proof for OL optimism
Titans 53-Man Roster 2025: The most concerning story nobody is giving enough attention, and glaring proof for OL optimism originally appeared on A to Z Sports. Before you decide that offensive line talk is boring and click away, what if I told you the most important questions for the Tennessee Titans in 2025 pertain to just a handful of these big boys? Advertisement This is the interior offensive line portion of an ongoing article series, breaking down the Titans projected 53-man roster one position at a time. So far we've covered quarterbacks, Kalel Mullings' role, Tyjae Spears' most important season ever, and Tony Pollard's potential ceiling. In this installment, we have to ask the question that most are ignoring about Lloyd Cushenberry. Then, I want to explain why you should be higher on the Titans OL depth, a very important thing, than you are. Let's dive in: Offensive Tackles JC Latham Dan Moore John Ojukwu Cut: Jaelyn Duncan, Olisaemeka Udoh, Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson Advertisement Guards Peter Skoronski Kevin Zeitler Jackson Slater Blake Hance Cut: Andrew Rupcich, Chandler Brewer Centers Lloyd Cushenberry Corey Levin Cut: Sam Mustipher, Brenden Jaimes The Cushenberry Question We may look back in a couple of months on C Lloyd Cushenberry as the most under-discussed story of the offseason. The highly-paid 2024 free agent acquisition went down in Week 9 against the Patriots with a torn Achilles. That ended his season on November 3rd. Week 1 of the 2025 season is September 7th in Denver, which will be just over 10 months post-injury. And while that's within the predictive range for return to play, an Achilles injury is amongst the most finicky. So much of the concern we used to have for major injuries has been minimized or erased completely by the miracles of modern sports medicine. When a guy tore his ACL 40 years ago, there was a decent chance it could end his career. Today, we say 'see ya next season'. Advertisement But the Achilles is one we still haven't quite mastered. Some studies indicate as few as 1/3 of athletes return to the level of play they achieved before tearing an Achilles. And as many as 1/3 end up retiring. Those aren't great odds! So is it time to panic over Cushenberry? Well, there's some important context here to consider. Achilles injuries are most common in older players, so a good number of those who end up retiring are sometimes nearing the twilight of their career already. Cushenberry is a spritely 27 years old, so he's a bit of a different case than, say, 40 year old Aaron Rodgers tearing his. He is also, by all accounts, progressing well on schedule to try to play in Week 1. So maybe he'll be one of the success stories! I just think everybody needs to brace themselves for a couple of uncomfortable outcomes. There's a decent chance he's not ready for Week 1, and perhaps beyond. There's also a decent chance that whenever he does come back, he takes time to return to a high level of play. Perhaps it's a couple weeks. But it could easily be a couple months. How often do we point to 'the year after the year' with injuries, especially in hindsight? Depth… A Sneaky Bright Spot? So what happens if Cushenberry can't be your guy for a while? What happens if any of these starters on the line go down, for that matter? Well, it's not great news. But in the NFL these days, it never is. Advertisement The Titans have legitimately serviceable interior OL depth if Cushenberry needs time, or 35 year old Kevin Zeitler gets banged up, or even if Peter Skoronski suffers an untimely injury. They have the bodies to weather the storm. C Corey Levin is the change I made in this depth chart projection, and it's because of the way his coaches talked about him. Listen to this from Coach Callahan at the podium: 'The guy that I really think deserves some public praise is, Corey Levin, with Lloyd (Cushenberry III) being out, we brought Corey back to be able to run the show and Corey's a veteran player. He is a savvy, scrappy, intelligent interior guy that's really helped us run our offense over the course of the offseason without Lloyd. Really, really pleased with what he's done for us. Really happy that we have him because he's very capable and he started games for us at the end of the year last year and he started the games in his past. I've been very pleased with his performance. Again, if that guy is a depth piece, then that's fantastic for us.' Well, that's about as clear cut as it gets. Hand up, I was an idiot for leaving him off my initial projection. Should've known better. He's not the only guy that elicits confidence, though. The other change I made on this projection was moving Blake Hance to the list of guards. It's hard to say what Hance will be for Tennessee yet. I thought he was being brought in to compete for the primary swing tackle position. But the last time he played significant tackle snaps was a while ago. When we asked his coaches about him, they indicated they're working him in at every position on the line. So maybe he'll just be their 6th lineman, no matter the position? August will clarify that for us. But they're happy to have him in the fold too. Then there's rookie Jackson Slater, who I'm high on to develop into a starting guard in 2026. If he needs to be tapped before then in a backup role, I think he'll be able to handle that. Advertisement At tackle, the picture is much murkier. Hance could be that guy. So could John Ojukwu, who I wrote more about in the tackle edition of this series. And then there's rookie Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, who I'm intrigued to see in pads. He ran the SEC gauntlet of pass rushers pretty cleanly last year, that's all I'm saying! All told, I'm pretty pleased with where the depth of this unit is as compared to last year. I remember when we were discussing guys like Ojukwu and Duncan as OL6/7. Now, we're talking about them as fringe roster guys at OL9/10. That just about sums up the progress I think they've made here. Related: By playing less, the Titans' best offensive player last season could unlock an even higher gear with Cam Ward in 2025 Related: Boom or bust season for Titans running back in 2025 who has one last shot to insert himself into Tennessee's future plans Related: Titans rookie looks to be the successful version of a Mike Vrabel Era failed experiment as a roster lock in 2025 View the original article to see embedded media. This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
10-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Tennessee Titans rookies Kevin Winston and Kalel Mullings still recovering from injuries
Tennessee Titans rookies Kevin Winston and Kalel Mullings still recovering from injuries The Tennessee Titans are finishing up their rookie minicamp, marking the first chance to see this class in action on the field. Unfortunately, two of their draft choices couldn't participate in the on-field activities and were limited to individual workouts due to injuries. After the session, head coach Brian Callahan acknowledged the incident and gave a brief injury update. Third-round pick Kevin Winston and sixth-round pick Kalel Mullings will be eased into the offseason program due to their pre-existing injury conditions. After selecting Winston, the team mentioned his ACL injury. While he is progressing and will be around the team doing individual drills, it does not appear that he will be available until the start of training camp. Mullings underwent core muscle surgery after his college season and is recovering. No timeline was given for his return. Both players have already signed their four-year rookie contracts and can continue rehab at the team's facility while continuing the offseason program. Official OTA practices with veterans start Monday in Nashville.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Titans Sign 23-Year-Old 1,000-Yard RB to Contract
The Tennessee Titans decided to wait until the sixth round to draft a running back when they selected Kalel Mullings. However, that wasn't the last running back move they made. According to Blaine Kellar, the Titans have signed former Utah running back Micah Bernard as an undrafted free agent. Advertisement Bernard spent all six years of his college career playing for the Utes, but it wasn't until last season that he really broke out. He rushed for a career-high 1,009 yards on 5.1 yards a carry. He also caught 30 passes for the Utes. Bernard may also be underrated as an athlete. New Tennessee Titans RB Micah Taormina-Imagn Images Back in 2022, The Athletic's Bruce Feldman named Bernard to his annual "Freak List," coming in at No. 70. "He played both ways for the Utes in the Rose Bowl, starting at corner when the team desperately needed his help there. He made a team-high 10 tackles and also ran for 31 yards and had a receiving touchdown. For the season, he ran for more than 500 yards, averaging 6 yards per carry and led Utah backs with 26 catches and 251 yards. The 6-0, 202-pound sophomore broad-jumped 10-9 1/2, clocked 4.42 in the 40 and vertical-jumped 38 1/4. Teammate Clark Phillips gushed about Bernard's Freak credentials, pointing out the guy who is barely 6 feet can do 360 dunks." Advertisement Now, 2022 was a long time ago, so it's notable that Bernard wasn't able to get back on the "Freak List" this offseason. That said, he averaged 5.3 yards per carry in college and could be an intriguing project for the Titans. Related: Titans QB Cam Ward Issues Strong Message on Shedeur Sanders Related: Mike Borgonzi Turns Heads With Comments About Titans QB Will Levis
USA Today
26-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 NFL draft: Tennessee Titans select RB Kalel Mullings
2025 NFL draft: Tennessee Titans select RB Kalel Mullings The Tennessee Titans' final pick of the 2025 NFL draft comes in the sixth round with the 188th overall pick. With that selection, the Titans selected running back Kalel Mullings from Michigan. Mullings was part of the Michigan Wolverines for five seasons. In 2020, he was available as a reserve running back for six games and in 2021, he was available as a reserve linebacker for 13 games. In 2022, he appeared in 13 games as both a linebacker and a running back. In 2023, he played in 13 games as a reserve running back, and in 2024, he received Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, leading the Wolverines with 948 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. While not a well-known player, Mullings can clearly play on either side of the ball. As a running back, his defensive mind aids his blocking ability, and as a linebacker, his offensive mind can seek out his opponents with ease. He will join Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears, Julius Chestnut, and Bryce Oliver in the Titans' running backs room in 2025.
USA Today
26-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Kalel Mullings selected by Tennessee Titans in sixth round of 2025 NFL draft
Kalel Mullings selected by Tennessee Titans in sixth round of 2025 NFL draft When Kalel Mullings committed to Michigan football, he was supposed to be the next great Wolverines linebacker. However, it didn't exactly work out that way for him. Mullings spent his first few years working on the defensive side of the ball for the maize and blue before playing dual duty in 2022 -- splitting time between linebacker and running back. When Blake Corum's season was ended due to injury, Mullings went over to offense full-time, playing running back. It didn't start off well. Despite throwing a no-look pass to tight end Luke Schoonmaker against Ohio State that year, Mullings had a big miscommunication on the goal line with quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the College Football Playoff, and he coughed up the ball. At the time, Michigan fans wanted him to go back on defense. However, they're glad he didn't. In 2023 and 2024, Mullings shined in his running back role. Expected to be a backup this past year, he wrested away the starting job from Donovan Edwards. And now, like his predecessor Hassan Haskins, he's been drafted by the Tennessee Titans, who picked him in the sixth round with the 188th overall pick. Mullings led the Wolverines with 185 carries for 948 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2024, adding to the 36 carries and 222 yards the year before. Mullings had three rushing touchdowns in his limited time in 2022. With his selection, Michigan football has had six players selected thus far, with Mason Graham going at No. 5 overall, Colston Loveland at No. 10, Kenneth Grant at No. 13, Will Johnson at No. 47, and now Mullings at No. 188.
