Joint practices are supposed to be controlled. Thursday in Nashville was not that.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson is being evaluated for a concussion after a late hit from Chicago Bears safety Xavier Woods during joint practice. Cam Ward threw across the middle in a team period, and Woods, a former Titan who signed with Chicago in August, dropped Robinson with a shot that drew a personal-foul penalty. Robinson walked into the building on his own, which is the good news.
Titans head coach Robert Saleh needed one word.
“Cheap,” Saleh said.
He confirmed Robinson was being evaluated for a concussion. Titans center Austin Schlottmann and left guard Peter Skoronski immediately confronted Woods after the play. Coaches from both sides broke up the scrum.
“That’s teach tape 101 in terms of what not to do in a thud practice and a thud period,” Skoronski said. “Hits like that aren’t necessary. We defend our teammates.”
He is right. Joint practices exist so teams can get high-quality reps against a different opponent without the risk of a preseason game. The unwritten rule is you go hard, you compete, but you do not put anyone on IR. Woods put Robinson in concussion protocol. That is the exact violation.
The Woods angle makes this worse. He played in Tennessee for two seasons before signing with Chicago this August. He knew every one of those players. He was hitting former teammates in a practice that has no scoreboard. There is no scenario where that hit is justifiable.
Robinson is a real story on his own. The Titans signed him to a four-year, $70 million deal in March after four seasons with the Giants. He put up 92 catches for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns in 2025, which was his breakout year. Tennessee is counting on him being Cam Ward’s primary target as the young quarterback develops. A concussion two weeks before the season is exactly what nobody needed.
Saleh confirmed the Titans starters will play Saturday’s preseason finale against the Bears at Nissan Stadium. Robinson’s status is unclear, which is the polite way of saying he is probably not playing. Concussion protocol has zero shortcuts. He needs to clear each stage. Missing the finale is the low end of the outcome. The Week 1 status becomes the real question.
The NFL will have to decide whether Woods gets fined. In the regular season, that hit costs him money. In joint practice, the league’s disciplinary power is fuzzier. The Bears could handle it internally. If they do not, expect Saleh to remember. So will Skoronski. So will the entire Titans offense.
Two teams. One field. A lot of grudges that just got heavier. Sunday should be fun.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
