Tennessee Titans Preseason Week 1 Player of the Game: Kalif Raymond

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kalif Raymond has earned the honor of being named our Player of the Game in the Preseason Week 1 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

We could have gone either way with this one, but wide receiver Kalif Raymond earned the nod as our Tennessee Titans Player of the Game in the Preseason Week 1 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Raymond totaled six catches for 80 yards, both team-highs. He also missed a touchdown by mere inches on a pass from quarterback Ryan Tannehill. We’ll give him an “A” for his effort on the play, which had him diving for the pylon near the sideline.

For a large chunk of this game, Raymond was a catalyst for the Titans offense, helping it move the ball down the field on multiple drives. There’s no question he was the team’s best receiver on Thursday night.

Raymond didn’t just contribute on offense, though. The 25-year-old also showed up in the return game, as he took one kickoff for 24 yards, and also returned three punts, with his longest one going for 27 yards.

The speedster is not only a threat on deep balls, he also showed he can be an asset in the short passing game and over the middle of the field. His versatility also helps his cause for making this roster because he’s a solid and experienced return man.

Head coach Mike Vrabel praised Raymond after the game.

As it stands now, Raymond is doing everything necessary to make this roster. He’s shined in training camp, he was a standout in the first preseason game, and he has the skill set and versatility to be a real asset for the Titans in 2019.

If Raymond can keep it up, he might just make it happen.

Honorable mention: Ryan Tannehill

When we mentioned this award could go either way, the other player we were talking about was quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

In his Titans debut, Tannehill played about as good as you could hope. He completed 12 of 16 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. His completion percentage could have been even better if not for three drops from his receivers.

People are going to say “well, he did it against backups,” and that’s true, but didn’t he do what you’d hope for and expect him to do in that situation?

The bottom line is Tannehill is a backup quarterback with a lot of NFL experience and could be a starter for some teams in this league. He is a far superior insurance policy than Blaine Gabbert was last season, and it isn’t even close.