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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former Seattle defensive backs Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams talked a lot Thursday.
Current Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon had the last word with an interception of Will Levis as Tennessee began a two-minute drill, and he punctuated his second interception of the day by running to give the ball to Adams, now with the Tennessee Titans.
Witherspoon then continued running toward the end zone without the ball and waved to the Titans. Diggs had nothing but compliments for his former teammate after practice, saying that with his energy and intelligence, Witherspoon could be one of the best in the NFL.
“I mean, he’s competitive as hell,” Diggs said. “He’s making a play over there. He’s yelling at us on the other side of the field, you know, just the back and forth.”
Diggs may have enjoyed the competition. Titans coach Brian Callahan made it clear he was disappointed with Tennessee’s performance in the final drill, even though his offense was missing top receivers DeAndre Hopkins (knee) and Tyler Boyd (bruised foot).
“That wasn’t what I was hoping for from that period,” Callahan said. “I thought the execution wasn’t good the whole time and we threw an interception pass that would have ended the game. So that’s good coaching to learn from, but I’m very disappointed.”
The Seattle Seahawks and the Tennessee Titans ended their two days of training together on Thursday with significantly more emotions.
Titans general manager Ran Carthon helped keep Tennessee’s offensive line in check after Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams stopped himself after pulling back his right arm, apparently ready to hit rookie left tackle JC Latham while already holding the seventh overall pick out of Alabama.
Witherspoon had already been beaten a few times on Wednesday. As someone who learned from Adams as a rookie in Seattle a year ago, the trash talk went back and forth. The Seahawks cornerback was much happier when he had the chance to add an interception to close out Thursday’s session.
He said Adams hid from him when Witherspoon searched for him after the selection.
“Yeah, I was looking for him so I could pass him the ball and show him how to really do it. That’s really how you run this defense,” Witherspoon said.
Jeffery Simmons, a two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman for the Titans, had his own moment when he picked up left guard Laken Tomlinson and threw him to the ground.
Callahan said Thursday’s practice was shorter than Wednesday’s, which lasted nearly 2 1/2 hours in the heat of the day. After two tough days of controlled practice together, there is no need for the regulars to play in the preseason game, Callahan said. Malik Willis will start at quarterback after working with the second team against Seattle.
“He’s earned the chance to play with this group and I’m excited to see what he does,” Callahan said.
Injury problems
Seattle coach Mike Macdonald says wide receiver Pharoah Brown has a foot problem and running back Zach Charbonnet has suffered stiffness in his back.
Titans defensive lineman Keondre Coburn entered the game early as a precaution, along with tight end Josh Whyle, who hit his head on the ground during a 1-on-1 drill. Wide receiver Kyle Philips suffered a hamstring injury and defensive end Marlon Davidson injured his biceps. Linebacker Kenneth Murray sat out with a hamstring strain.
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