The Titans’ rebuilt secondary is set to make its debut against Bears rookie Caleb Williams.

Nashville, Tennessee (AP) The Tennessee Titans are relying heavily on an almost totally rebuilt secondary, and they’ll finally get to see it all come together Sunday in their season opener at Chicago.

Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who signed as a free agent from Cincinnati in March, missed the most of the preseason after injuring his calf muscle in the first few days of training camp. L’Jarius Sneed, who had 10 interceptions in four seasons with Kansas City, has been on a management plan since being dealt to the Titans in late March.

First-year coach Brian Callahan isn’t concerned about either Awuzie or Sneed, even though the secondary will have to make a significant jump from walk-throughs and a few days of practice to the season opener. “It’s not what you would plan on if you had a perfect world, but I know what those two guys are made of, particularly L’Jarius and Chido,” Callahan told reporters Monday. “I’ve watched them play. I’ve seen L’Jarius play some really good football. He looks fantastic right now. I know what Chido is capable of. So I know what the parts are capable of, and there will come a point in playing together where we will have to grow as we go.

Callahan stated that with so many new players and coaches at Tennessee, this will be a continuing process. “But I’m very confident in what those – especially those two people – what they’ve done and how they go about their work that I’m not worried about their level of play, but certainly the group as a whole is going to need to grow together.” Callahan stated.

The focus has been on the two new starting cornerbacks. Before training camp, general manager Ran Carthon signed safety Jamal Adams, who was previously with Seattle, then added Quandre Diggs in early August. Carthon used all of that money to help new coordinator Dennard Wilson strengthen a defense that had the NFL’s fewest interceptions previous season (six), despite Tennessee losing 18 of its last 24 games. Callahan declined to provide any form of injury update Monday, with the first official report due Wednesday afternoon. Sneed and Awuzie returned to practice last week, marking the start of two open practices for reporters.

Adams, who has played in only 10 games over the last two seasons due to ailments, is scheduled to return from an unknown injury. Sneed noted that he has participated in walk-throughs and meetings since coming in April, and he believes the work he will complete before kickoff Sunday will be sufficient. He learns best by walking through the tasks assigned to him on the field. “A lot of guys know it’s go time,” said Sneed, who believes he and Awuzie are both prepared to go. Awuzie agrees and knows what to expect in a secondary that includes Amani Hooker, the only returning safety, and cornerback Roger McCreary, a second-round pick out of Auburn in 2022.

“Now it’s time to build an identity of who we are,” Awuzie told the crowd. “You know me, Sneed. You haven’t had the chance to hang out with the boys as much as you’d like. But in the conference rooms, hanging around in the locker room, and all that, we definitely formed a deep camaraderie. So now it’s only football.” The top overall choice in the April draft, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, will put this secondary to the test. That makes communication essential. Hooker stated that every practice rep must now be intentional and involve everyone on the same page. It also helps that the new Titans have extensive NFL experience.

“Guys are able to bring ideas over from previous teams that they had that they believe could work and help us out,” Hooker informed us. On Monday, the Titans added safety Kendell Brooks to their practice squad. He went undrafted out of Michigan State and signed with Arizona following the 2023 NFL draft. He spent the preseason with both Indianapolis and Washington.