NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- If Treylon Burks can do what he did Monday, 12 days after suffering an LCL strain after a several-step stumble took him to the ground following a deep-ball catch in Eagan, Minn., there is plenty of cause to expect he can be ready in 13 more days to play in New Orleans.

Burks took part in most of the receivers' individual period at practice under the guidance of Rob Moore, looking pretty smooth and comfortable without a brace or sleeve on his left knee.

At one point he leaped high to one hand a ball over a tackling dummy and an assistant holding two high padded arms that a pass had to clear. [Unblocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Here's my stab at the Titans' initial 53-man roster.

I have an inkling they will be light at tight end to start, but I'm not sure where that makes them heavy. I went with an extra wide receiver considering the injuries. I also factored in a forgotten running back, though we have no idea about the severity of the knee injury he suffered in the preseason opener. 

Quarterbacks (3) -- Ryan Tannehill, Malik Willis, Will Levis.

Yes, there was great progress from Willis and yes it's still early. I still don't have a lot of faith in Willis but it's still relatively early. This is as much about next year as it is this year. If things unfold where they move on from Tannehill, maybe they have starter and backup in Levis and Willis. [Unlocked]

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent
 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Malik Willis has shown improvements in his game but with the extended playtime over the past two weeks, he has also shown how much further he still must go to be a solid backup quarterback in the NFL.

Willis has very good athletic ability, arm strength and a quick release, which are all very good traits for any level quarterback.
But Willis still lacks pocket awareness and patience in the pocket, he gets uncomfortable in the pocket and flushes himself even when the pass rush hasn’t dictated it. 

With his vision and coverage-reading ability, Willis missed a vertical go-route on his fourth pass of the game. Colton Dowell was open by two steps on the left side of the offense. On the same play, Chris Moore was open in the middle of the field. He didn’t attempt the throw to either receiver, instead, he flushed himself up in the pocket and to his right for a sack. The offensive line had great protection on that play.

The maturation continues.  

Joe Giles-Harris with the PICK!!#NEvsTEN | #ForeverNE

📺: @wbzsports pic.twitter.com/c27MWOyvlo

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 26, 2023

Best things I saw [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans hammered the Patriots Friday night at Nissan Stadium, 23-7 in a game that wasn’t nearly that close and didn't feature a single New England starter.

And Malik Willis, vying to solidify the backup quarterback job, did some quality work along the way engineering a 368-yard effort that included 211 passing yards during which the Titans held the ball for 38 minutes and 38 seconds. 

He hit Julius Chestnut and Kearis Jackson with scoring passes.

He also, unfortunately, threw two interceptions, one a low attempt behind Josh Whyle that bounced off the tight end and caromed to linebacker Calvin Munson and another that hit Joe Giles-Harris in front of Mason Kinsey when it needed to go over the linebacker. It was an easy play for Giles-Harrison.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ryan Tannehill, who's not played in the preseason since he took over as the Titans' starting quarterback, will see limited work Friday night in the team's preseason finale.

The team hasn't hesitated to sit him quarterback for preseason games in 2021, 2022 and for the first two weeks of 2023.

But the thinking has changed against the Patriots.

The Titans are running a new offense under new coordinator Tim Kelly and have a revamped offensive line and apparently want to give Tannehill a bit of work operating it against the New England.

Tannehill last played in the 2019 preseason, his first with Tennessee when he joined the team as Marcus Mariota's backup. He took over as the starter during the year.

Meanwhile, after missing the Titans' second preseason game in Minnesota due to a minor quad injury, Will Levis is doubtful. Jeremy Fowler reported Levis is not expected to play. I've learned he will warm up but is doubtful with a quad injury he suffered during joint practices in Minnesota that held him out of the second preseason game. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ryan Tannehill, who's not played in the preseason since he took over as the team's starter, could start for the Titans Friday night in their preseason finale.

The team hasn't hesitated to sit its starting quarterback for preseason games in 2021, 2022 and for the first two weeks of 2023.

But indications are the thinking may change against the Patriots.

The Titans are running a new offense under new coordinator Tim Kelly and have a revamped offensive line and may still want to give Tannehill a bit of work operating it against the Patriots.

Tannehill last played in the 2019 preseason, his first with Tennessee when he joined the team as Marcus Mariota's backup. He took over as the starter during the year.

Meanwhile, after missing the Titans' second preseason game in Minnesota due to a minor quad injury, Will Levis is doubtful. Jeremy Fowler reported Levis is not expected to play. I'm told he will warm up but is doubtful with a quad injury he suffered during joint practices in Minnesota that held him out of the second preseason game. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- DeAndre Hopkins still has to do it when it counts, of course. But all indications through training camp are that he can and will.

In practices he's looked like the super-reliable, got-get-it receiver the Titans were hoping for when they landed him late, and with injuries to Treylon Burks and Kyle Philips that may limit the receiving roster at the start of the season, Hopkins will be even more important than we anticipated.

That's where we begin this week's edition of the podcast.

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

Other subjects I dive into:

💥 The kicker issue, what the division has done at the spot and what the franchise has done the last four years compared to the 26 before that.
💥 Teair Tart seems poised for a pass-rushing breakout and could make the front-four five deep.
💥 A Tyjae Spears prediction and a back-of-roster read.

It's all brought to you by Jasper's

The podcast is the front door to PaulKuharsky.com.

If you like what you hear or see here, you'd really love the rest of the site. Join the fun, now at 25 percent off.

By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- With two preseason games in the books and roster cuts just one week away, the regular season is suddenly right around the corner. With that comes the roster trim from 90 to 53, which must be complete by Tuesday, August 29th at 3 p.m. CT.

The Titans' 24-16 win in Minnesota featured a dominant run game from Tennessee and a strong defensive showing, a familiar formula for the franchise even if the players themselves were mostly unfamiliar. It’s dangerous to extrapolate too much from exhibition games, but there are a few things that I feel varying degrees of certainty about heading into Titans versus Patriots at Nissan Stadium on Friday night.