Nov 3, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; TTennessee Titans center Lloyd Cushenberry III (79) calls out the audible against the New England Patriots during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Titans Name Eighth Captain For Season Opener

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Luke Hubbard | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 2:14 PM ET

Earlier this week, the Tennessee Titans named their seven permanent team captains for the 2025 season. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward got the nod along with six of his teammates: WR Calvin Ridley, RB Tony Pollard, DT Jeffery Simmons, DB Amani Hooker, LB Cody Barton and LS Morgan Cox. Today, they revealed who their eighth captain will be for their season opener against the Denver Broncos.

After Friday's practice, Titans Head Coach Brian Callahan announced starting center Lloyd Cushenberry will be the Titans' eighth captain this Sunday.

Cushenberry was a four-year starter for the Broncos before signing a four-year, 50-million dollar deal with the Tennessee Titans last offseason. He immediately took over as the Titans' starting center, and now he begins his second year with the team as a captain for the opener.

Cushenberry started the first nine games of the season for the Titans. He allowed 14 pressures and earned a 54.9 run blocking grade through nine starts. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn achilles in week nine of the 2024 season, which caused him to miss the rest of the year.

Cushenberry's been fighting his way back throughout the offseason, and on August 11th, he was activated and returned to practice. Since then, he's been an active participant in training camp and practice, but was held out of the Titans' preseason games to ensure he's ready for week one. And they're going to need him, because they have to face one of the best defenses in football right out of the gate.

The Denver Broncos' defensive front poses a big challenge for Cushenberry and the rest of the Titans' offensive line. Denver led the league in sacks a year ago and returns almost everyone in their front seven. With a rookie quarterback under center for Tennessee, Van Joseph is going to dial up some exotic blitzes to try and put Cam Ward under pressure. Cushenberry is going to need to make sure communication between himself and the rest of the offensive line is on point, because if it's not, the Broncos will live in the Titans' backfield.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Titans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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