NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- One of the top Titans pushed money from this year to next year to pave the way for DeAndre Hopkins. Now Kevin Byard is enjoying the energy a big-time receiver brings to the team at the start of camp.

But he's seen a similar scenario before and knows the Titans need to put in the work and get things done beyond paper in order for it to be meaningful.

That's where I begin the new episode of the podcast, which awaits you on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn and iHeart as well as YouTube, which is below.

Other subjects I dive into:

💥 The Titans building analytic systems and the wait for examples of what they can do
💥 The Titans' terrible lack of depth and the one position where they might be able to survive injury
💥 I missed the end of Barbie and need someone to fill me in
💥 The training camp schedule and veterans' options to skip hotel life

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As the Titans lined up for their first practice of camp, the right tackle wore 73 but it might as well have been a question mark.

Mike Vrabel said a day earlier that Jarmarco Jones had already begun at the head of the line of candidates to replace Nicholas Petite-Frere at the spot. NPF will miss the first six games while serving an NFL suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.

Vrabel also mentioned every other available tackle on the roster:  Andrew Rupcich, Jaylen Duncan, John Ojukwu (who is being called O.J.) and John Leglue.

By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The 2023 Tennessee Titans begin training camp today, starting preparations for what figures to be a fascinating season. Mike Vrabel’s sixth season as head coach opens with his squad hoping to bounce back from their first losing season since 2015.

The addition of DeAndre Hopkins and the retention of Jeffery Simmons, Derrick Henry, and Ryan Tannehill make it clear that Titans brass are not viewing this as a rebuilding season. However, they laid out some groundwork for a transition from the Henry-Tannehill era by drafting Will Levis and Tyjae Spears in April.

With Henry and Tannehill both set to be free agents at the end of this season, this could be a farewell tour for the core group that appeared in the 2019 AFC Championship game and won back-to-back AFC South titles in 2020 and 2021. Maybe a successful season could push that timeline back, but the team appears to be preparing as if this is the last hurrah.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In 2019 when Tim Kelly took over as the Houston Texans’ offensive coordinator, he diversified DeAndre Hopkins’ game.

The receiver had played 336 snaps out of the slot in 2014, but otherwise had predominantly worked outside. Under Kelly he played a large share inside – with 342 snaps inside as compared to 762 wide, per Pro Football Focus.

Fifty-six percent of his 104 catches and 52 percent of his 1,165 yards came out of the slot, per Sports Info Solutions.

The production out of those 31 percent of his snaps was impressive.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For two years, Titans have headed to the training room during practice, limped off the field during games, reported injuries on Mondays, popped up on injury reports on Wednesdays, been scratched by Mike Vrabel on Fridays, gotten deactived on Sundays and made trips to injured-reserve.

Over two seasons, a team with 53 roster spots at a time and 48 on a game day was forced to use a remarkable, unprecedented 177 players.

"Plug-and-Play" Vrabel and his staff coached up a lot of replacements who filled in better than could have been expected… until the second half of last season, when the injuries extended to quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the team finished the season with a seven-game losing streak and a 7-10 record that ended a three-season playoff streak.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- We've known for two years the Titans would wear Oilers throwbacks this season. 

Sunday they announced it would be for two home games, and they also said they have inquired about the road game in Miami but met resistance. They clearly want fan pushback to help them get that game too.,

Here are some of the pictures they send out with some of their big names in what I think are the prettiest uniforms in retirement.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – So DeAndre Hopkins reached out to me about a Thursday tweet where I shared a few quotes I believed I got from him in a text exchange.

It turns out they were from someone with an old phone number of his who decided to play me by acting as if he was Hopkins when I reached out.

I foolishly fell for it, landing in a spot where I’ve got to write this post, apologize to you, thank him for being cool about it and walk away embarrassed and able to laugh at myself after a period of torture.

Who are we kidding? I'm still tortured.

I had hoped to be able to actually speak with him, of course, replacing some stand-in's words with his own but despite our DMs and texts after I did find his current number, I’ve not been able to pull that off. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Randy Moss, Andre Johnson and Julio Jones were tremendous receivers who offered hope to the Titans that they would bring some late-career juice.

Instead, Tennessee got virtually nothing out of them.

That's part of why doubt comes with DeAndre Hopkins.

But there are legitimate reasons to think the 31-year-old could be different, and I get into that in this week's edition of the Podcast.

The new episode awaits you on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart and YouTube, which is below.

Other subjects I dive into: