NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Titans sent shockwaves around the NFL on Monday when they traded captain and All-Pro Safety Kevin Byard to the Eagles. The move was done to pick up a pair of draft picks next spring with the long-term future of the franchise in mind, but now the team has to find a replacement for Byard on the field for the rest of this season.
One candidate to step in at safety would be veteran Terrell Edmunds, who the Titans also acquired in the Byard trade. In his sixth season out of Virginia Tech, Edmunds has had a whirlwind week. He helped the Eagles to a win over the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football, was traded to Tennessee on Monday, and arrived in Nashville Tuesday ready to get down to work with his new team.
“I found out five minutes before everyone else did,” Edmunds said of the trade. “My G.M., he called me and told me the whole situation, and you know I just flew out here and got ready to play. Excited to come over here. Excited to help the team out the best way I can.”
The 26-year-old Edmunds played his first five seasons with the Steelers before signing a one-year contract with the Eagles last offseason. He’s played 86 career games with 78 starts, making 438 tackles and five interceptions.
He’s left positive first impressions at Ascension St. Thomas Sports Park.
“Showed up here ready to go, was excited, had a great attitude (and) did some stuff yesterday,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said. “So I would say that if he keeps progressing like he has he could potentially play (Sunday).”
Edmunds isn’t the only new safety to join the Titans this week. K’Von Wallace was claimed off waivers from Arizona Wednesday and arrived at the facility first thing Thursday morning.
Wallace started the first five games of the season for the Cardinals, playing nearly every snap. But then was sat down this past week and was surprisingly released on Tuesday. Wallace says he felt the Cardinals no longer saw his value but embraced his new opportunity in Tennessee.
“It was crazy,” Wallace said Thursday about his sudden release. “I though that was going to be the new home where I could stay long-term, but, you know, God has different plans. I know (Byard) was huge here. I know what he’s built here, but I’m just here to do my job.”
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen says the Titans are doing their best to get Edmunds and Wallace up to speed so they can play this week. But the Titans acknowledge it’s got to be up to everyone on the defense, and not just the newcomers, to make up for Byard’s absence, starting this Sunday against the Falcons.
“I’m not so much trying to fill (Byard’s) shoes or be him, but at the same time just be myself,” Edmunds said. “I’m not trying to have the expectations of me trying to come in and be ‘KB’ because he’s meant so much to this organization for a long time. He gave a lot to this organization. He meant a lot to the NFL in totality, so I’m just trying to come out here the best way I can and be the best player I can be.”
