Tension turns to relief as the rookie tackle returns to the field, silencing injury fears and stabilizing a revamped offensive line ahead of Tennessee’s first training camp practices.
The Tennessee Titans accidentally created widespread panic last Thursday.
Safety Amani Hooker and right tackle J.C. Latham were placed on the PUP list with a few days to go before training camp. Titans fans immediately began assuming the worst.
There was probably more concern over Latham than Hooker, if I'm being completely honest. Still, both players are vital to the Titans' success.
Latham has now dealt with hip and pectoral issues since joining the Titans. He missed a handful of games last season due to the hip injury after transitioning back to right tackle, which he played in college at Alabama.
Hooker will need to usher in the new players the Titans have added to the secondary. Alontae Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott are about to begin their first year with the franchise, and there are second-year players like Marcus Harris, Micah Robinson and Kevin Winston Jr. who could benefit from a veteran leader like Hooker.
On the offensive line, continuity is going to be very important for a young quarterback like Cam Ward. There's already going to be two new starters after the departures of Lloyd Cushenberry and Kevin Zeitler.
It was reported that the injuries to Hooker and Latham were short-term, and it turns out that they were right. Hooker came off the PUP list one day before the team's first official practice of training camp on Wednesday, and Latham was removed on Thursday.
Latham had been dealing with a pectoral injury since OTAs and was listed as day-to-day by General Manager Mike Borgonzi earlier in the week.
Titans head coach Robert Saleh announced Thursday that Latham was coming off the PUP list and that the team would work him into training camp activities over the next few days.
Saleh was hopeful that Latham would be able to rejoin the Titans at practice on Saturday.
"JC is coming off PUP today," Saleh said, "So, you'll see him with a helmet. He won't fully be integrated into practice, but we'll work him in, hopefully getting him into practice Saturday. So, we'll see how the next couple of days go."
Even though both players could've come off the PUP list at any time, it's still good that the panic wasn't worth stressing over.
Hooker is free to join the team at practice, and we should be seeing Latham on the field this Saturday if all goes according to plan.
The secondary will have one of its veteran leaders ready to go, and an offensive line that desperately needs cohesion with two new starters incoming gets a player who has been with the franchise back in the rotation.
If either of these players went on the PUP list during the regular season, then there would've been cause for legitimate concern. Both players are set to be back in action this week, and life goes on.
It's great for the Titans that two veteran players are back this early into training camp.
