The Tennessee Titans will have one name on the defensive side of the ball looking to make a major statement in year two.
That's second-year linebacker Cedric Gray, who comes off a rookie campaign that had nothing short of its ups and downs. The Titans' 2024 fourth-round selection was out of the mix for the initial ten games of his first year in the league, had a few adjustments and growing pains to work out, but now finds himself healthy and ready for a sophomore year in which he can get a bigger season sample size.
And for Gray, while his first year in the league had it's challenges, the adversity did help him learn one valuable trait heading into his second season: patience.
"The biggest thing that I learned, honestly, has nothing to do with football," Gray said during the Titans' OTAs. "I think the biggest thing I learned last year was patience. For me, personally, coming in I had these high expectations, and this, that and a third. And really, I think calming down and learning how to be patient and learning the game more, growing, it is something I learned last year."
During his first year in the fold, Gray finished with seven games on the field to collect 22 combined tackles, 13 solos and nine assists, all while returning mid-season from a nerve-related shoulder injury.
"It was definitely hard on me," Gray continued. "I've never really had a serious injury before in my life, so that was kind of hard for me miss 10 games. That was definitely a challenge for me. But I think I tried to manage it, and got through it pretty well. I tried to keep high spirits during that time, and keep learning and growing, so when I got back, I could take advantage."
Now, for his second season with the Titans, the stage is set for Gray to bounce back in a major way for a wildly different-looking year than his first.
With a strong camp and preseason showing, there's a route for the Titans' sophomore to potentially secure a starting role within this linebacker unit alongside other names like Cody Barton and Otis Reese IV. And perhaps in the best-case scenario, be a budding, big-time playmaker in this defense for their hopeful improvements for 2025.
