Tennessee Titans Who Need to Bounce Back Against Minnesota Vikings

The Tennessee Titans kickoff their second preseason game of the year on Saturday and a few players need bounce-back performances after falling short in Chicago.

The Tennessee Titans take the field again on Saturday for their second preseason contest of the year. This time against the Minnesota Vikings after losing to the Chicago Bears last week. While there were some great Titans' performances even in a loss, some players will be looking to bounce back from a less than stellar first week.

Josh Whyle - Tight End

The rookie tight end was the most obvious "loser" of the first game of the preseason. Josh Whyle let a Malik Willis pass go through his hands that turned into an interception. While the pass was high, Whyle admitted he should have hauled it in regardless. Not only that, but Whyle had a fumble in the game.

The rookie already bounced back in a way. Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com called Whyle's Monday practice the best the tight end has had since joining the team. Whyle had a good two days of joint practices this week as well.

Whyle is expected to have a small role in the offense this year, but one that will be important. At 6-foot-6, Whyle can use his size and athleticism to help the Titans in the red zone and on third downs. Let's see if Whyle can keep the positive momentum he had in practice this week going and bounce back in the game.

Backup Offensive Line

The Titans' starting offensive line came out and immediately led a scoring drive to open the game against the Bears. After that though, the offensive line's performance regressed. While there were some backup offensive linemen who played decently like Justin Murray, Corey Levin or Jaelyn Duncan, there were many more who did not play well.

Offensive tackles Zach Johnson, Andrew Rupcich and suspended starter Nicholas Petit-Frere along with interior players like Xavier Newman-Johnson and John LeGlue struggled mightily. It led to eight sacks on the day. While not every sack is the fault of the offensive line, that performance could clearly be improved upon.

Young Kickers

Both of the Titans' young kickers, Caleb Shudak and Trey Wolff, had their issues against the Bears. Shudak booted a kickoff out of bounds, earning a penalty. Wolff missed his only field goal of the day from 48 yards.

Shudak is a second-year player, but missed his rookie season with an injury. Wolff is an undrafted rookie out of Texas Tech. The point is, neither of them should have any benefit of the doubt at this time. Shudak made his only field goal attempt, but it was not a very good kick and barely stayed in from 41 yards out.

Both players did make an extra point, but that will not be anywhere close to good enough to win the season-long job. Both need to bounce back in a major way after some struggles in practice this week as well.

Titans Related Stories

• MALIK WILLIS FILM ROOM: Tennessee Titans second-year quarterback Malik Willis made his preseason debut on Saturday against the Chicago Bears and there was a lot of good and bad on tape. CLICK HERE
• BURKS INJURY UPDATE: The Tennessee Titans got a major scare at practice on Wednesday when wide receiver Treylon Burks was carted off with an injury, but according to a recent report, the Titans and Burks may have avoided the worst possible outcomes. CLICK HERE
• WILL LEVIS INJURED: The Tennessee Titans dealt with more potential injury news on Thursday as rookie quarterback Will Levis exits practice early. CLICK HERE