Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor will see meaningful snaps moving forward, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said, but maybe not at his previous position.
Taylor was made inactive shortly before Week 6 win at the Indianapolis Colts, days after the NFL’s 13th highest paid cornerback had a poor outing against the Houston Texans.
Joshua Williams played well at outside corner in Taylor’s place against the Colts. Bradley said Taylor might play more at the inside or nickel spot now.
“I don’t know what (Titans coach Robert) Saleh has talked to you about, but I think that’s what we’re looking at right now," Bradley said on Oct. 21 when asked if Williams would start at outside corner for the Titans (1-5) against the Cleveland Browns (4-2) on Oct. 25 (noon, CBS). "(Williams) will play meaningful snaps."
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Saleh said Taylor needed a reset. Both sides acknowledged the former Tennessee Vol and Coffee County standout is still learning the scheme in Saleh’s first year.
“(Taylor’s) played corner before, I’ll be clear on that. He did both at New Orleans, he's played inside and outside, so it's not a matter of whether or not he's capable,” Saleh said. “Our system's a little bit different, like I said, there's a lot, it's not just play man. And it's just stuff that he's working through, and we'll continue working with him to help him get better.”
Saleh’s scheme asks defensive backs to play more instinctually than others, watching the quarterback’s eyes instead of just covering a receiver.
Coaches had discussed before whether Taylor could play inside in case of an injury, but the move draws attention now because Taylor was seen strictly as a corner addition when he signed for $42 million guaranteed as a free agent.
“We all came in with the idea of, all right, let’s look at him at corner and see where he’s at. We all still believe he can do that,” Bradley said. “But I think in this league the more you can do, you can find yourself getting on the field. That possibility of playing inside and outside will help him in that process he’s going to play meaningful snaps, we know that.”
Tyler Palmateer covers the Tennessee Titans for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Will Alontae Taylor start vs Browns? Titans DC Gus Bradley talks possibilities