Health issues factored into Roydell Williams release

The decision to waive Roydell Williams apparently had more to do with the receiver’s injury issues than his performance on the field.

According to Titans coach Jeff Fisher, the team simply did not want to wait for Williams, who had ankle surgery in January that required a plate and screws be inserted into his right foot, to get healthy enough to be counted on.

So in that regard, they elected to go with healthier, but inexperienced receivers like Paul Williams and Chris Davis instead of the player who tied for the team lead in receptions last year.

“I think things may have been different if he was available to us throughout the OTAs and throughout the preseason but he just wasn’t,” Fisher said. “When you start the season you have to have healthy players on your roster and it’s hard to predict his future from that standpoint.

“It’s hard to meet a nicer guy and a hard-working player and one that’s more dedicated than he is, but as I told a number of guys we released over the last couple days, you’re going to play, you’ll just have an address change. Hopefully he’ll get that behind him and he’ll be a productive player.”

Williams broke his ankle last January in practice, preparing for the Titans wild-card playoff loss at San Diego, and struggled to return. He missed all the off-season work and began training camp on the physically unable to perform list.

He was taken off that list on Aug. 4, but still had issues, including a setback with the ankle.

Though Williams subsequently suffered an ankle sprain after he returned to practice, the Titans say they did not regret their decision to remove him from PUP when they did. Had they left him there, Williams would have had six weeks of the regular season to rehab the injury and be re-evaluated after that.

“I think what happens is that our doctors passed him on the physical, and he went out and played and practiced, so that’s kind of how it works,” Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt said. “We deemed him healthy enough to play, and he played.”

Fellow Titans receivers admitted shock Sunday at Williams’ release.

“It’s all new to me, and I didn’t really believe it. That’s tough, because that’s my best buddy,” Brandon Jones said. “It does send a message. It sends a message to anybody. Roydell is a great player. I feel like he’s one of the best out of this group, so it comes as a shock. It sends a message that I’ve got to go out and get the job done and stay healthy here.

“I expected him to be here, no doubt about it. He was a starter [last year].”

The Titans are now thin on experience behind their top three receivers, and although offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger does not rotate wideouts the way Norm Chow did, behind the top three players, Davis has five career catches, while Williams and rookie Lavelle Hawkins have yet to appear in an NFL game.

“I think most teams are probably in the same situations,” Fisher said. “There’s probably some exceptions but you have guys at the front of your roster that are going to take most of the snaps that have some experience. Then you’ve got young guys that you’re developing.”

But that doesn’t mean the Titans won’t look at other players released, though with veterans it might not happen until week one of the regular season when contracts no longer have to be guaranteed to vested veterans.

“It makes it a less risky proposition [to wait] quite honestly, and I think you’ll still see some guys filter out,” Reinfeldt said. “There were some guys claimed today, and every time somebody is claimed, you’ve got to release another guy, so we’ll continue to monitor them.”

Among the more notable receivers released who might be worth a look at Chad Jackson, who was waived Sunday, and Ashley Lelie, who was let go Saturday.

Jackson, a 2006 second-round pick released by New England, must pass through waivers, but also already has a friendship with Titans quarterback Vince Young off the field.

Lelie is a player Fisher liked when he came out of Hawaii as a first-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2002.

LOWRY CLAIMED: Titans free safety Calvin Lowry was claimed by the Broncos on Sunday.

Lowry, a fourth-round pick from Penn State by the Titans in 2006, started 11 games last season first at free safety and then at strong safety before being waived in the Titans final cuts on Saturday.

No other Titans player was claimed off waivers, and the Titans did not put any initial claims in for any players who were waived by the other 31 clubs.

“You look at what he did out there. He started a lot of games and there’s a lot of tape on him,” Reinfeldt said. “He was a fourth-round pick originally.”

Michael Griffin expressed surprise that Lowry was waived by the Titans on Saturday.

“I was very surprised. It’s a business or whatever, but I was very surprised,” Griffin said. “I thought he was doing some good things and some positive things. I was thinking he was the third safety, and if anyone was to go down, such as myself in the Green Bay game, that he’d be the next one to step up. But it’s opened doors for Donnie and Vinnie outside of nickel and special teams.”

If the Titans look for help there, Eugene Wilson, a player they pursued in the off-season as a nickelback and backup safety, was waived by Tampa Bay.

PRACTICE SQUAD: The Titans signed eight players who had been in training camp back to their practice squad on Sunday. Those included quarterback Ingle Martin, tight end Jamie Petrowski, defensive tackle Antonio Johnson, receiver Biren Ealy, defensive backs Cary Williams and Tuff Harris and offensive linemen Fernando Velasco and Jason Murphy.

NO ISSUES: Fisher again indicated that quarterback Vince Young’s bruised throwing hand is fine and should not be an issue for the Sunday opener against Jacksonville.

“Vince is fine,” Fisher said. “We’re not downplaying anything, there are no issues, there will be no surprises as far as our quarterback is concerned. And I’ll probably have an injury report for you on Wednesday.”