managed one goal of reaching the end of the preseason as healthy as possible.They also have one player healthier than expected before Saturday's deadline to trim the roster to 53.Coach Mike Vrabel gave an update Friday on defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons Marquez Valdes-Scantling Jersey , their first-round selection at No. 19 who had been seen as a potential top-five pick before tearing his left ACL in February. Simmons worked throughout the preseason with trainers on a side field, and the tackle expected to be out most — if not all — of this season, is ahead of schedule in his recovery."His progression and his recovery has been really, really good," Vrabel said. "I don't want to rule anything out right now, but I would say it's far, far more along than what the average player would be. He's further along."The Titans placed the 6-foot-4, 305-pound defensive tackle from Mississippi State on the non-football injury list at the start of training camp. Simmons spent part of training camp working with four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jurrell Casey in the veteran's own recovery from a knee injury before Casey passed his physical Aug. 10.Casey said then that Simmons kept him motivated and the tackles got one-on-one time with Vrabel. Casey also was able to show Simmons some tricks and tips.The Titans could decide to put Simmons on the reserve/non-football injury list to start the season, keeping him out the first six weeks. Keeping Simmons on the 53-man roster would make him eligible to start practicing, a roster decision complicated by the need to keep an extra offensive lineman with three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan suspended for the first four games.Outside linebacker Harold Landry III did not play during the preseason and missed a week of practice leading up to last week's loss to Pittsburgh. Vrabel said both Landry and rookie guard Nate Davis, who missed two weeks of camp with an undisclosed injury, were expected to practice Friday.Running back Derrick Henry is another player who did not take a snap in a preseason game after hurting his left calf on the opening day of camp. Henry was among the Titans who traveled to Chicago for Thursday night's 19-15 win over the Bears, though Henry was among 42 who only watched from the sideline and did not take a single snap."There's nothing more important than the health of the football team, the players that are going to go out there and be the ones that help us win, so I would say this is probably as healthy as we've been with the guys that obviously didn't play (in Chicago)," Vrabel said.Now it's time to turn full attention to the opener Sept. 8 in Cleveland where the starting offense is expected to be together without having played a snap together in the preseason.The Titans tied for second in the NFL with eight touchdown passes Jimmy Graham Color Rush Jersey , though quarterback Marcus Mariota had only one of those. Mariota was 10 of 20 for 50 yards in very limited work with his new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith."We're ready to go," Mariota said before the preseason finale. "Since spring, I think our guys have bought into what Art has established."NOTES: Vrabel says the Titans' starting right guard is Kevin Pamphile right now, cautioning they have practiced different rotations. ... New OLB Reggie Gilbert, acquired in a trade with Green Bay, had seen doctors Friday. Gilbert must pass a physical, but Vrabel noted the Titans know the linebacker recently had a procedure for a knee injury.Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker The Packers have benefitted from generational stability at quarterback, a stability that stemmed from drafting one in the first round when they had a 35-year-old star at the top of his game.But even though Aaron Rodgers was a clearly defined successor to Brett Favre, Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst downplayed bringing in Missouri quarterback Drew Lock for a pre-draft visit was part of a plan to eventually replace Rodgers.“I think the whole succession plan thing, I think is a little bit overhyped or whatever,” Gutekunst said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “I go back to when I first started and certainly when Ted [Thompson] came back [as GM in 2005], we value that position extremely highly. And I think every year we spent a lot of time on quarterbacks and try to figure out what kind of players those guys are going to be in the NFL. I think it’s really, really important to us because if you don’t have one it’s really tough to win in this league. So, you know, for us it’s just about each and every year trying to decide which of the guys that could potentially be starters in this league and difference maker-type players. And then if you ever have an opportunity to take them sometime in the draft and it’s the best thing for your team I don’t think you can hesitate with that https://www.thepackersfanshop.com/Muhammad-Wilkerson-Jersey , you know?“Again, we’re lucky to have the best player in the NFL playing that position right now. But at the same time, just like I was talking about before, your needs can change just like that. So, I think it was just doing due diligence. There’s always questions, specifically with those guys, maybe that are a little more thorough and more in depth that you’ve got to get to the bottom of and so we were trying to do that.”The Packers are in a position to invest for the future, since they have a pair of first-round picks (12th and 30th overall).And it would be easier to dismiss bringing in Lock as one of their 30 visitors if they didn’t also try to schedule Duke’s Daniel Jones. But Gutekunst said between medical issues and other considerations, the extra visits could mean many things.“Certainly, there’s a medical part of it,” Gutekunst said. “There was a bunch of guys not at the combine that we needed medical grades on. That’s part of it. A lot of it is just trying to get to know guys a little bit more. There were some unanswered questions that when we came out of the combine or pro days that we didn’t feel like we had answered.“And then sometime there’s just some subterfuge thrown in there as well.”And that’s fine, as they have enough visits to do things just to mess with their opponents. If that’s all they’re doing, of course.