Tennessee Titans' Robert Saleh rested draftees during rookie minicamp

The Tennessee Titans hosted their 2026 rookie minicamp this past weekend, but it wasn't like the minicamps we've seen in the past.

Last week, head coach Robert Saleh said that the rookies wouldn't do anything on the field other than team stretching. Traditional rookie minicamps see players hit the field for positional drills and other non-contact activities, but Saleh chose to alter the Titans' minicamp this year and lean more heavily into the classroom and off-field orientation tasks.

Saleh called the change a lesson he learned from previous experience, and indicated that there's a 'scar' there, which is why he held all eight of the Titans' draft picks out of their first potential practice.

“Yeah, I’ve called it a scar,” said the coach ahead of rookie camp. “I was on the staff that saw Dante Fowler tear his ACL on the first rep of rookie minicamp. So, I’ve just taken the philosophy these guys have had a lot, they’ve had a lot of stress over the last month, their bodies aren’t ready for football. And so, we’re just trying to see where they’re at so we can properly get them acclimated once they get here with the veterans.”

The Titans saw 58 tryout players, five returning veterans, and 11 undrafted free agents hit the field instead. And, if second-round pick Anthony Hill's opinion is shared, the eight draftees appreciated Saleh's choice.

“I would say it’s not hard [to wait] because we’ve been on the move so much lately,” said Hill. “It’s okay to step back and kind of take some time to learn the defense, take some time to learn and get a feel for the building, get a feel for the city before you just hit the ground running again.”

All of the Titans' rookies, whether drafted or not, have a learning curve ahead of them. The NFL is not the NCAA. The expectations are different, the mentality is different, and everyone is in a new location where they likely know no one and have to learn how to navigate new surroundings. There is a ton of change happening for these young players, and they deserve a chance to slow down and take it all in.