When the Tennessee Titans signed veteran offensive lineman Chris Hubbard, he was one of many players vying for the right tackle job, but he wasn’t the frontrunner, as that title was held by Jamarco Jones.
However, with Jones being released following two practice ejections last week, it’s now Hubbard who figures to be the favorite, mostly thanks to his advantage in experience over the rest of the competitors for the job.
When asked about Hubbard’s showing after the first week of practice for him in Tennessee, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said he was pleased with Hubbard, especially when it comes to his attitude and professionalism.
He also noted that Hubbard has been working hard to get up to speed.
“Chris has been great,” Vrabel said, per AtoZ Sports Nashville. “Chris has been professional, he’s been attentive. Again, not without mistake like everybody else, but it seems like he’s put a lot of work in to figuring out what we want to try to do each and every day in the early installation. And I think things will start to calm down going forward here when we move into next week just because we’ve gotten most of everything in and so hopefully there will be some more improvement. But I’ve liked everything that I’ve seen from him, as far as his attitude and his professionalism.”
After what we saw from Jones, the part about Hubbard’s professionalism and attitude stand out a bit more.
But at the end of the day, it’s going to be Hubbard’s performance on the field that determines if he wins the job, something that certainly isn’t a foregone conclusion yet.
Things are moving quickly for the 32-year-old, who is learning things on the fly after not having a full offseason with the team. Thankfully, it appears he’s putting in the work necessary to get up to speed.
The 32-year-old will have another week of practices ahead of what could be his preseason debut on Saturday against the Chicago Bears, which, assuming he plays, should give us better insight into where he and the rest of the right tackle candidates stand.
