After a tumultuous offseason, second year wide receiver Tajae Sharpe returned to the practice field for the first time in a couple of months. Sharpe was last year’s preseason darling, much like Jayon Brown this year, and had a rather productive rookie season. At least, it was productive in terms of what you’d typically expect of a fifth round draft pick.
According to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online:
Titans receiver Tajae Sharpe practiced for the first time since June, and he loved every minute of it.
The Titans removed Sharpe from the team’s Physically Unable to Perform list earlier in the day.
“It’s one of the best feelings I’ve had in a minute,” Sharpe said. “Just being back out there, being able to compete with my teammates, it was great. Now I want to go out there and make plays for the team.
Sharpe suffered a foot injury in June, and had surgery. He’s been rehabbing the injury since. On Monday morning, Sharpe passed a physical and was cleared to begin practicing with the team.
Wyatt, obviously one of the nicest people in the world by a lot of accounts, didn’t mention the bit about Sharpe allegedly taking some dude out back of The Tin Roof and whoopin’ the hell out of him while Sebastian Tretola allegedly served as lookout.
Look, I like Sharpe. We make a lot of distasteful jokes on this site, but at the end of the day, we still like to see people succeed. 41 receptions, 522 yards, and two touchdowns – it’s safe to say most teams would take that from a fifth round pick in a heartbeat. But, ultimately, the hype was unreasonable. Sharpe did not completely turn around a decade of mediocre Titans receivers. The preseason hype machine got a little out of control, and it seems to have cast Sharpe in a negative light among a cohort of Titans fans. But, it’s unwarranted.
If nothing comes of this assault case, and if Sharpe can reproduce his 2016 season, he could provide some valuable depth to the receiving corps.
As the #3, #4, or even #5, he’s going to be facing opposing teams’ #3, #4, or #5 defender. That’s an advantageous position for a guy who can run precise routes. He’ll no longer need to beat the 1’s and 2’s. So, there’s definitely a spot for him. But, he’s behind the 8 ball a bit. He’s missed two months of camp, and the only way to get into football shape is to play football. Jonathan Krause and Tre McBride will be competing alongside him for a roster spot, but Sharpe should be able to beat out those guys. He should be more concerned about Harry Douglas and Eric Weems.
Regardless, the more time he missed, the less likely he’d get a chance to play in 2017. The fact that he’s gone from #1 to #5 in the matter of a year speaks volumes of how seriously Jon Robinson took bolstering the receiving corps this offseason. But, that said, all of the talent on paper doesn’t automatically equate to production. No matter how you spin it, Sharpe is apart of a talented group.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @WrestlingNewsCo
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