NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Even with sweltering heat, outside linebacker Harold Landry III couldn't be happier about being back on the practice field for the Tennessee Titans.
Losing the 2022 season to an ACL torn Aug. 31 will do that to an NFL player.
Making his return even sweeter? Landry finally has his chance to prove he can follow up his best season yet, which earned him a big contract extension last year.
“I’m ecstatic to be back," said Landry, who started training camp on the active roster.
He's not alone. Two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons made clear Saturday how happy he is with Landry back on the field. Offensive linemen won't be able to sit on Simmons and smother him with double-teams.
“Guys like Harry, tackles are scared of his speed,” Simmons said. “They never know what may happen with him.”
Landry was the 41st pick overall in 2018 out of Boston College, and he had started 52 of 64 games before his injury last August in a practice closed to reporters. He went into 2021 as a contract season, and he produced a career-high 12 sacks that ranked 10th in the NFL.
He led the Titans with 14 tackles for loss and also ranked second on the team with a career-high 49 quarterback pressures. He has a team-high 31 sacks since 2018. Only Jevon Kearse had more sacks with 38 in his first four seasons for this team since sacks became an official stat in 1982.
That's why the Titans declined to use the franchise tag on him, instead agreeing to a five-year extension worth $87.5 million with $52.5 million guaranteed in March 2022.
Landry seemed primed to build on that season along with both he and Simmons coming off Pro Bowl seasons. They helped the Titans tie for ninth with 43 sacks in 2021, then tied a league postseason record with nine sacks in a playoff loss to Cincinnati.
The Titans placed Landry on injured reserve Sept. 2 — nine days before the season opener. That was among the most costly injuries in a season where the Titans wound up using a league-high 86 players.
That left Tennessee in the middle of the pack with only 39 sacks last season with Simmons playing without Landry on the outside and on an bum ankle half the season. The Titans cut outside linebacker Bud Dupree as a salary cap saving move and signed Arden Key.
Landry tried to make the best of his injury, not only working on recovering but also spending the offseason working to learn more nuances of rushing passers and defending receivers.
“They got me right where we’re right on schedule for the season, and I’m excited about that," Landry said.
Landry also has shared what he knows with backup linebacker Rashad Weaver, a fourth-round pick out of Pittsburgh in 2021. Weaver called Landry, "super smart, and he just knows everything about the defense.”
The Titans have been working Landry back in during the first days of camp, and coach Mike Vrabel said the linebacker's energy and understanding of the defense has helped.
“He’s been great to communicate with as far as adding things each day,” Vrabel said. “We’re just getting started. But stringing some plays together, see how he responds, see how he feels, and then we’ll add more ... if that warrants.”
NOTES: The Titans had their first practice Saturday open to fans who got tickets through a lottery. Controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk was among those who met with fans after practice. ... WR Treylon Burks made a nice catch of a deep pass in one drill. ... The defense got to celebrate when Weaver picked off a pass by Malik Willis intended for a tight end. But Willis, a third-round pick out of Liberty last year, bounced back on the next play with a deep completion to Chris Moore.
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