Following a heated joint session marked by ejections and scuffles, Tennessee’s head coach provides critical health updates on Jacob Martin and key members of the defensive front.
The Tennessee Titans practiced with the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday ahead of Thursday's inaugural preseason game.
It's a homecoming for Saleh, who was the 49ers' defensive coordinator last season. He had a previous stint in the same role from 2017-20.
The 49ers made sure to welcome the Titans to Santa Clara, as there were multiple fights in the first 15 minutes.
Dan Moore Jr. and Austin Deculus were thrown out of practice for their parts in the fight. Then, everyone eventually got settled in.
After practice concluded, Saleh shared injury updates on four Titans players. Those players were Jacob Martin, Cor'Dale Flott and John Franklin-Myers.
Martin left Tuesday's joint practice with a knee injury. Flott was left out of practice as a precaution, and Franklin-Myers has been dealing with lower back stiffness.
The head coach was hoping that Franklin-Myers would be back in action next week. Rookie Jackie Marshall, who was dealing with an oblique injury, should also be back next week, per ESPN's Turron Davenport.
"We're gonna get that looked at for a knee," Saleh said. "Flott, we just held him out. More of a precautionary thing. He did get a bruise. JFM, we'll hopefully get back next week."
With Martin leaving practice early, Keldric Faulk replaced him. On the Titans' first depth chart of the preseason, Faulk was listed as the backup to Martin. This could indicate that the Titans may want to bring Faulk along before handing him a starting role.
At the same time, it's still preseason so nothing is really set in stone.
Martin was with Saleh at the New York Jets for half of the 2022 season. He was later traded to the Denver Broncos that year.
Franklin-Myers was one of the two players injured one day before the Titans held their blue-and-white scrimmage last Friday. He left with lower-back stiffness, and Elic Ayomanor exited with shoulder pain.
Ayomanor has since returned to practice, but Franklin-Myers has not.
We did get a glimpse of how Saleh wants to use Franklin-Myers with the release of the depth chart. He was listed as a defensive lineman rather than a defensive tackle or edge rusher, both of which he has played in his NFL career.
It seems that the plan is to move Franklin-Myers around to take advantage of mismatches.
Marshall was a backup defensive tackle on the depth chart. It sounds like he won't be able to participate in Thursday's preseason game.
The Titans are going to be without Franklin-Myers and Marshall for sure on Thursday.
Stay tuned here at Titans Roundtable for more injury updates and everything you need from Titans training camp.
