The Chance to Make One Player Feel Welcome and the Need to Make Another Feel Better

Coach Mike Vrabel confirmed that the Tennessee Titans will host wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on a free-agent visit. If reports of other possible destinations are accurate, it is clear that Hopkins, a five-time Pro Bowler, values familiarity. In Vrabel, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly and passing game coordinator Charles London, he has that in Tennessee, courtesy of his seven seasons with the Houston Texans. Earlier in the offseason, franchise officials preached patience in the pursuit of much-needed help at wide receiver. Hopkins could provide the payoff. ... Kevin Byard was asked to take a pay cut this season (he has not done so) and then stayed away to train on his own during organized team activities. The leader of the Titans defense said – when he finally met the media – that those things are not related and that he informed franchise officials months ago of his plan to train on his own for much of the offseason. There is no doubt that he said all the right things but little faith that he actually told the truth (or at least the whole truth). Given his exemplary record on the field, as a locker room leader and in prior dealings with the front office, it is impossible to think anything other than first-year general manager Ran Carthon made a major misstep in this case. ... As training camp approaches, there still are questions about the roster, including an absence of obvious contributors at one position, the uncertainty about the value of one newcomer and the troubling injury history of a veteran player.