Titans Rookie Returns to Practice

During his final season at Penn State, Winston Jr. suffered a partially torn ACL, which caused him to slip a bit in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Titans ended up selecting him in the third round, and while the ACL is healed, he's been dealing with some soreness in his knee, which is typical for that type of injury.

Winston Jr. likely would've gone earlier than the third round if it weren't for his knee injury. In 2023, Winston Jr. was one of the best defenders in the country, allowing a 50% completion percentage and just 121 in coverage. He earned an 89.2 defensive grade, 90.6 run defense grade, 92.8 tackling grade and an 86.8 coverage grade from PFF as a sophomore.

Brian Callahan noted before training camp started that they'd have to be careful with Winston Jr. coming off a torn ACL. You don't want to mess with injuries like that, so when his knee was sore after five straight days of padded practice in early August, they held him out.

Many expected him to be back at practice much sooner than this, but the Titans' goal was always to get him ready for week one. By holding him out this long, they ensured that there was little risk of re-injury.

Winston Jr. was not a full participant today. He did most of his work on a side field, according to a report by Turron Davenport, but it's encouraging to see him back out there.

The Titans' safety room is comprised of a lot of veterans, such as Quandre Diggs, Amani Hooker and Xavier Woods. It will be hard to get a lot of playing time over those guys as a rookie, but they will play a huge role in Winston Jr.'s development. If he can stay healthy and learn from the veterans on the roster, he could find himself starting sooner than later.