Titans players were “somewhat shocked” at postponement but understand

[T-Rac]

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Titans coach Mike Vrabel told his team at 8:30 a.m. local time Thursday that the league had postponed their Week Four game against the Steelers.

“I think they were somewhat shocked,” Vrabel said, via Erik Bacharach of the Nashville Tennessean. “They wanted to play. They were preparing to play. But I think that they understood and realized why the decision was made. I think that they’ll handle this like they do everything else — with professionalism, with understanding and a compassion to not only ourselves, but those people that have been affected.”

The NFL pulled the plug — making the “safe and smart decision,” according to Vrabel — after another Titans player and a another team employee tested positive for COVID-19. That brings 12 total positives for the Titans in the past week, beginning with outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen on Saturday morning.

The Titans will use their unexpected off week to try to get healthy.

Cornerback Adoree' Jackson (knee), receiver A.J. Brown (knee) and left tackle Taylor Lewan (shoulder) will spend the weekend rehabbing.

“That was my message to the team: If this is going to be our bye week, there’s a lot of players that can use this time advantageously to possibly return for us to continue to improve and play better,” Vrabel said. “I told them try to mentally recover from an emotional few days so that we can proceed with our season and build on a 3-0 start.”