Rookie Anthony Hill Jr. maintains his starting role following a dominant 16-tackle debut, even as Cedric Gray nears a return to bolster the Tennessee defensive rotation.
The Tennessee Titans put Anthony Hill Jr. into the fire in Week 1, and he didn't fold under pressure.
Hill led the team with 16 total tackles against the New York Jets. Before Sunday, Hill's only NFL action had been with other teams' backups in the preseason. He performed well versus the Seattle Seahawks, with seven total tackles and one interception.
Still, nothing compares to the level that is an NFL regular-season game.
Hill was able to get the start due to Cedric Gray being absent. Gray is still working his way back to clear the NFL's concussion protocol after being in a UTV accident during Labor Day.
This week, Gray was on the injury report again but was able to participate fully in every practice. Gray is still listed as questionable, but he is trending toward playing on Sunday.
Before we've learned whether Gray will play on Sunday, Robert Saleh has already named Hill the starting middle linebacker. Saleh spoke after Friday's practice and confirmed the news.
"I thought you were going to ask about Anthony starting at Mike, but as far as packages and play time, for sure they'll be some moving parts there."
Saleh went into further detail about how Hill has impressed him so far. With rookie linebackers, there can be a bit of a learning curve when it comes to calling out formations and making adjustments, but with Hill, Saleh was confident because of the players around him.
"He's done a really nice job," Saleh said. "You know, the biggest issue always for a young linebacker, especially the Mike, is always going to be communication. And it's not necessarily, you know, everyone talks about the green dot. The calling the huddle is the easy part. It's turning around, seeing the formation, getting a close call, making the adjustments, the communication, the checks. He's in a really fortunate position right now where he's got Cody next to him. He's got Amani Hooker talking to him in his ear, and you've got Kevin, guys who've been around the league. You've got an experienced D-line who knows how to line themselves up if he's slow to see it. So, you know, he's got he's got a lot of people around him to help him in that regard."
When it comes to what the Titans are going to do with Gray, who is likely to be back in the lineup, the head coach noted that the team has options.
"No, there's a lot of moving parts there. You know, Ced and Cody are both really good football players. Both starting linebackers in this league and they have different skill sets and bring different qualities to the table, but we'll figure it out as we go."
It seems that the Titans have a good problem to have at linebacker. Finding the right combination of players at the position will be important for the Titans as they move forward.
Hill has earned his spot as the starting Mike linebacker. Where do Cody Barton and Gray come in?
Barton doesn't fit what Saleh wants to do at middle linebacker, but he is still a productive player. Last year, he had 81 total tackles, four TFLs, one sack and three interceptions.
That isn't a player that you can keep off the field.
Then, you have Gray, who led the Titans with 164 total tackles last year. Gray also accounted for seven TFLs and one sack.
The Titans can realistically put all three players on the field at the same time with Hill's recent ascension. The hard part is just figuring out where Barton and Gray should go now.
It looks like we have a new starting trio at linebacker in Music City. Sunday will tell us all we need to know.
Kickoff is set for noon CT on Fox.
