3 offensive players to watch in Titans' preseason debut vs. 49ers

Nicholas Petit-Frere, RT

Third-year offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere returned to practice from offseason surgery approximately one week ago. Petit-Frere underwent an offseason clean-up procedure on his knee. In his absence, blockers like John Ojuwku, Jaelyn Duncan, and Leroy Watson received first-team reps at right tackle with the offense. Watson won't play on Saturday, as he's been labeled week-to-week with an injury.

Petit-Frere is the perceived favorite to be the Week 1 starter, but he must quickly cover ground after missing the entire offseason workout program. Head coach Brian Callahan has already proclaimed that the right tackle battle won't be settled until training camp and the preseason concludes. It's unclear how much Petit-Frere will play versus the 49ers, but a positive showing would capture some much-needed momentum.

Malik Willis, QB

Malik Willis has enjoyed a quality training camp to date. The third-year quarterback was particularly outstanding during an open training camp session in July at Nissan Stadium in front of an electric home crowd. Willis has flashed signs of progress in previous areas of weakness, ones that include accuracy, decision making, and aggression.

Willis must continue displaying the same strides versus a live pass rush. Mason Rudolph is Tennessee's backup quarterback. Callahan never kept three QBs in Cincinnati on the initial 53-man roster, so Willis faces an uphill battle. His goal is to make this an extremely difficult decision for Callahan and general manager Ran Carthon.