NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The simple assault charge that hovered over Rashad Weaver from an incident just before the Titans drafted him in 2021 was concluded in late June, when the Allegheny Country District attorney’s office determined it was unwilling to move ahead with its prosecution and judge Anthony M. Mariani signed off.

At one point jury instructions were scheduled for this week.

An NFL official did not quickly reply to an inquiry but it seems likely Weaver is also now clear of any league discipline. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In adding DeAndre Hopkins to their roster, the Titans add a real Tennessee-killer

The last time the team faced its newest player was on opening day 2021, the only time he squared off with the Titans as a member of the Arizona Cardinals. He caught six passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

In catches and yards, it was a below-average day for Hopkins, who’s feasted on Tennessee during his 10-year career, much of it with the division-rival Texans.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – DeAndre Hopkins’ 2022 season was derailed by a six-game PED suspension at the start and two games on the bench with a knee issue at the end.

That left him playing only nine games in his final season with the Cardinals.

Still in those nine, he averaged just over seven catches and just under 80 yards. His nine-game totals of 64 catches and 717 yards would have led the Titans in both categories and his three touchdowns would have tied him for second in scoring receptions.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans’ offseason nonchalance with regard to receiver may be washed away if DeAndre Hopkins plays to form, as he’s soon to sign with Tennessee per Doug Kyed.

Hopkins, who regularly gave the Titans fits during his seven years with the Houston Texans won’t necessarily beat coverage with downfield speed.

But through his 10 years with the Texans and Cardinals, he’s shown an amazing penchant for snatching balls out of tight windows and frustrating defenders who thought they’d reduced or eliminated the danger of him as an option. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Another summer weekend is upon us and I am fired up.

But I must leave you with Titans' reading and so I present a mailbag.

You are welcome.

How do you feel about the secondary? I know Mike has been pounding the table about depth across the board, but there seems to be a particular shroud of concern over that group between unproven guys and projects. They’re an injury away from things getting weird back there.

— Stoney Keeley (@StoneyKeeley) July 13, 2023

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Discussions of Hall of Fame candidacies from the coach/contributor committees were beefy a year ago, the first year the category was in its current construction and produced one candidate for the entire committee to consider for induction.

Don Coryell, the former Chargers coach and passing-game innovator, became a Hall of Famer out of the spot.

This year, ties in the voting intended to narrow the field to 25 made for 29 semifinalists including Bud Adams, whose complicated case we’ve covered here before, and C.O. Brocato, the heralded scout whose name is on the Titans’ draft room.

He scouted for the Oilers-Titans franchise for 40 years. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Five Titans' training camp practices will be open to the public, but because of limited space at the team's headquarters, it will use a lottery system to distribute tickets.

These are the five practices:

• Saturday, July 29th: 9:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m. (Back Together Weekend)
• Tuesday, August 1st: 9:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
• Friday, August 4th: 9:15 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
• Thursday, August 10th: 9:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
• Tuesday, August 22nd: 9:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m. (Practice vs Patriots)

By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Much of the narrative surrounding the Tennessee Titans this offseason has been that a championship-level defense was wasted by a horrific offense last season and that an improvement from bottom-five to the middle of the pack in scoring would be enough to put this team into the playoffs.

There is no doubt that Tennessee’s defense was overworked and under-rewarded in 2022 as the offense consistently failed to put up points, but there also aren’t a ton of metrics to support “championship-level defense” claims either.