For change, Titans’ first-team corners ready at same time
NASHVILLE — Titans coach Mike Mularkey will have the chance Sunday to see something for the first time since he took over this team last November: Starting cornerbacks Jason McCourty and Perrish Cox playing together.
“We laughed about that in the preseason,” McCourty said Thursday. “He ended up rolling his ankle the day before the first one. I think last year we played one full game together against Buffalo.
“It’s exciting to be at full strength. For us, we’re missing only (receiver) Kendall (Wright) out there. Just to be relatively extremely healthy going into the first game is exciting.”
An injured groin limited McCourty to four games before he was placed on injured reserve last season. Cox, a free agent signee from San Francisco, hurt a hamstring the week after that Buffalo game last October. When he returned, McCourty was recovering from a second surgery that had ended his season. The Titans ranked seventh in the NFL, allowing only 229.9 yards passing per game, but tied for 21st with 11 interceptions.
Cox played in the exhibition finale at Miami, and Mularkey said the cornerback has looked very good.
“He’s running around as well as I’ve seen him run,” Mularkey said. “It’s nice to have those two guys, he and J-Mac, out there together working together.”
The Titans need both their veteran cornerbacks ready to go Sunday when they host the Minnesota Vikings, likely not knowing which quarterback they’ll face. Minnesota lost Teddy Bridgewater to a major knee injury Aug. 30, and the Vikings made a pricey trade to bring in Sam Bradford from Philadelphia on Sept. 3. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer won’t say whether Bradford or veteran Shaun Hill is starting until Sunday. Bridgewater, 23, had surgery Thursday.
The Titans are preparing for both quarterbacks, defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said.
“I don’t know which quarterback is going to play,” Lebeau said. “I don’t think it’s going to change that much of what they do offensively.”
The Vikings typically run Adrian Peterson early and often. But Minnesota also drafted wide receiver Laquon Treadwell out of Ole Miss to go with wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who led NFC rookies with 720 yards receiving last season, and tight end Kyle Rudolph.
“Any time I go into a season or a game, I want to be that guy that’s a difference-maker,” Peterson said. “That won’t change.”
Also Thursday, Mularkey announced the Titans’ new captains: quarterback Marcus Mariota and tight end Delanie Walker on offense, joined by defensive tackle Jurrell Casey and linebacker Brian Orakpo on defense and Wesley Woodyard and Daimion Stafford on special teams.
DEVELOPMENTS
Broncos LB kneels during anthem: Brandon Marshall of Denver became the latest NFL player to take a knee in protest during the singing of the national anthem before a game when he did it before Thursday night’s nationally televised game between the Broncos and Carolina Panthers in Denver.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was the first to stage the protest, first sitting and then kneeling during the playing of the anthem before preseason games.
Kaepernick said he was trying to bring attention to “racism and police brutality.”
Marshall went to the University of Nevada with Kaepernick.
“While we encourage members of our organization to stand during the National Anthem, we understand and respect it being a personal decision,” the Broncos said in a statement.
Last week, Kaepernick was joined by teammate Eric Reed and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane in kneeling during the final preseason games.
The Seahawks plan a pregame “demonstration of unity” that will “honor the country and flag,” wide receiver Doug Baldwin said in a tweet Thursday.
The Seahawks open the regular season at home on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. The 49ers host the Los Angeles Rams in the second game of a Monday night doubleheader.
Briefly: The Atlanta Falcons had wide receiver Julio Jones back for Thursday’s practice, confirming the team’s biggest star will be ready for Sunday’s opener against Tampa Bay . ... All-Pro guard David DeCastro, 26, signed a new six-year contract that will keep him with the Pittsburgh Steelers through the 2021 season. ... San Francisco running back Carlos Hyde is fully cleared from the league’s post-concussion protocol, and he participated fully at Thursday’s 49ers practice. ... The Jacksonville Jaguars placed starting defensive end Jared Odrick in the NFL’s concussion protocol after he was hit in the jaw in practice. The Jaguars open Sunday against Green Bay.