Titans sign former Broncos first-round pick Shane Ray

Shane Ray, an outside linebacker who was selected by the Broncos in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft but hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2018, is getting another chance with the Titans.

The Titans signed Ray and he is on the practice field in training camp today.

Ray’s career has been a long, strange trip: As a first-round rookie, he was a solid if unspectacular contributor who helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50. In his second season he had eight sacks and looked like he was emerging as the kind of player the Broncos thought he would be when they traded up to draft him.

But after that Ray’s career collapsed, he managed just two more sacks in his final two seasons with the Broncos, and his last NFL game was almost six years ago.

Ray also spent some time in the training camps in Baltimore and Buffalo but didn’t make it on either team’s regular-season roster. He played two years with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

Ray faces an uphill battle to make the Titans’ roster, but at the age of 31 he’s not giving up on his NFL career yet.

Read Also> Broncos rookie got some tough coaching early on in training camp

The coaching staff is trying to bring the most out of the rookie

If rookies are going to contribute to this Denver Broncos team right away in the 2024 season, they are going to have to do their part to limit repeated mistakes on the field. That was something head coach Sean Payton emphasized before the team’s start to training camp when he was asked about what he’s looking for in the day to day from young players.

“I think are the mistakes being repeated and are they trying to do what is being coached? How well are they doing it? There is a series of things that we look at when we evaluate these guys. Certainly, talent is one [of the things], but how well are they doing it? Everyone in here who has covered this game has seen preseason games where they see a rookie and there is this kid named [RB] Jaleel McLaughlin and we’re in San Francisco and he has over 105 yards. He grew that night. Something took place that night. That is what we are looking for.

The Denver Broncos won’t officially open training camp practices until July 26, but that seems to be more semantics than anything else. The rookies reported last week and the team has already been out there for acclimation practices, and the media was there to observe.

One of the main takeaways for those in attendance was the fact that rookie Troy Franklin was getting some tough coaching from Broncos passing game coordinator John Morton. Sean Payton was asked about it after the practice session.

“He stays on most of them. He stays on most of them. He coaches them hard, he coaches them with love because he sees what they have. It’s [WR] Troy [Franklin] today, but he’s an equal opportunity… He’s teaching all the time. He’s teaching all the time. I’ve been with him a long time, and I like hearing it. I like hearing it from a coach with passion because I think the players do as well. It’s when it gets quiet and no one’s talking to you is when you have to begin to worry.”

Franklin has already been humbled quite a bit this offseason simply by having to wait to hear his name called until Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Broncos were as shocked as anyone to see him falling to the third day of the draft and his availability was keeping Sean Payton up from Friday to Saturday. Payton noted that he called Broncos GM George Paton early on Saturday morning to tell him he thought they should move up for Franklin.

Which they did.

And Payton is right — tough coaching is usually a good sign of belief and faith in a player. Like he said, it’s when you stop hearing the coaching that you need to be worried, not when the coaches are getting on you about stuff.

Payton noted earlier in his press conference the things he’s seeing early on from Franklin that he really likes already:

“You see outside. You see outside, you see speed, you see playmaking down the field. There are certain routes that you see that are strong suits. I do feel [a] good football I.Q. with that player, and that’s encouraging. He’s continuing to get stronger.”

– Sean Payton

Franklin is in a great position with the Broncos to be able to have success early on in his career. He’s going to get looks in this offense and he’s already got chemistry with the quarterback. Bo Nix was Franklin’s teammate at Oregon and the two connected on countless occasions for a ton of big plays.

How quickly can Franklin get ready for the rigors of plaing in an NFL regular season and beating professional defensive backs on a consistent basis? The hard coaching he’s receiving would seem to indicate the Broncos are thinking sooner rather than later.