Titans Showing Patience With Rookie DT

The Tennessee Titans will give rookie defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat all the time he needs to get healthy.

Tennessee Titans second-rounder T'Vondre Sweat participates in rookie minicamp at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, May 10, 2024. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA

Rookie defensive tackle defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat has been absent throughout OTAs and mandatory minicamp, but the team is nowhere near panic time just yet.

While coach Brian Callahan and the Titans would love to have Sweat in the fold as soon as possible, him being healthy for training camp next month is what's really important.

“He’ll get his work over the summer. He’s got a plan in place and I’m confident that he’ll execute it," Callahan said recently, per AtoZ Sports. "Biggest thing for him is working still and getting in shape, ready to roll. He’s obviously working, not in front of everybody, but he’s here working. He’s not getting the full feel of work, but he’s here and he’s getting his work in. Anticipating him being ready to roll and we’ll see what he’s got in training camp.”

A second-round pick out of Texas, Sweat is expected to play a big role in the Titans' defense right away. The 22-year-old had a dominant final season in college, earning unanimous All-American honors and winning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and the Outland Trophy as the country's best interior linemen.

However, there is concern with Sweat potentially missing most of his first NFL offseason. Not just in terms of his health, but in terms of learning the defense in time for real game action, though defensive line coach Tracy Rocker doesn't believe that will be an issue.

“The biggest stride was, when he got here, he caught on fast,” Rocker said, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. “He learns very fast in the classroom. Then we got on the field, implemented everything we do defensively (and he) was really good. It was good, felt good about it, but we had to slow it down a little bit and now we’ll wait until training camp and go from there. But that was a positive thing for him.”

Tennessee's defensive line was pretty unremarkable last year, so Sweat coming in and playing a big role right away would greatly help that area of the roster improve.

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