One of the more consistently asked questions around the Tennessee Titans this offseason is about which player will wear the 'green dot' on defense.
For those who are unabridged, the 'green dot' is the player who communicates with the coaching staff via radio in his helmet. Last season, Azeez Al-Shaair primarily performed those duties for the Titans, defense, but he left for the Houston Texans in free agency.
Titans general manager Ran Carthon was asked about the chances of newly drafted linebacker Cedrick Gray being that guy.
"I was waiting on the green dot question," Carthon said. "I knew it. No, we do. We do think he has those traits. He's an extremely smart guy. He's a three-year starter, two-time captain. He has the ability—didn't have to do it at North Carolina because of the guys he had around him, but he is very capable, as is Jack Gibbens, as is other guys on our team. We'll let those guys figure that part out with Dennard (Wilson) and Coach (Frank) Bush. But we feel like we've got more than enough guys capable of wearing the green dot."
Apparently, Titans safety Amani Hooker heard Carthon and contacted the general manager after Saturday's post-draft press conference. Carthon told the story during an interview on Ramon, Kayla, and Will on Nashville's 104.5 The Zone.
“As soon as I got back to my desk I had a text from Amani saying he wanted (the green dot) and how can he go about getting it,” Carthon said on the morning show. “There’s a bunch of different ways to get there, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a linebacker.”
Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson also addressed the green dot situation after the team signed linebacker Kenneth Murray in free agency. Wilson didn't seem to concerned with finding the answer several months before the regular season starts.
“We’re not focused on the green dot right now,” Wilson told reporters. "That’s up to guys getting out there and performing, seeing how much information they can retain, first and foremost. The thing with Kenneth is, just like when he came out of college, you saw the explosiveness — he’s a big man, he’s athletic, he’s smart, he can make all the plays.
For us, our thought process is to put him in a position to allow him to play free, to cut it loose, so he doesn’t have to think as much right now. And as we start to let him go out there and cut it loose and he plays fast and physical and ahead of plays, then you give him the other responsibilities. But right now, it’s about him being the best version of himself, the good self. And trying to maximize his potential so when he goes out and plays, he plays free.”
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