Kenny Britt plans to hold his tongue until he has to – in his words – “take it on the chin.”
The Tennessee Titans wide receiver on Wednesday declined comment on any specifics of his meeting two days earlier with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in regard to what looks to be his latest violation of the league’s player conduct policy. Britt was arrested and charged with drunk driving in the early morning hours of July 20.
“He just really wasn’t that pleased of seeing me,” Britt said. “Everybody should be worried if you go to see the commissioner twice in one year, but I’ll take it on the chin and move forward.”
He did not hesitate to lash out at the Titans -- through social media -- later in the day, though, over a hit to his wallet. He posted a photo on Instagram of a fine sheet that showed he had been docked $9,915 for an unexcused absence from a scheduled training session on Tuesday.
A caption attached to the photo read: "“Yu gotta be [expletive] kidding me.. walk back to dis.. Don’t dey know I have kids .. I’m tired of did [expletive].”
Britt last met with Goodell on Aug. 23, 2011 in regard to several off-the-field incidents that took place during the 2011 offseason. Due to legal issues related to the lockout that canceled virtually all offseason activities he was not suspended in that case.
He is not likely to be so lucky this time. The most probable result is a multi-game suspension that is influenced by the previous disciplinary problems.
“I’m a man about what I did,” Britt said. “And I’m going to take it on the chin with whatever he decides and move forward.”
Sidelined since the start of training camp by knee surgery, he continues to make progress in his rehabilitation.
“The knee is feeling good,” he said. “After my last surgery … I’m about four and a half weeks out. I started cutting last week and it feels awesome. … I’m happy about the progress.”
Coach Mike Munchak has said numerous times in recent days he thinks Britt will be healthy for the start of the season. The 2009 first-round draft pick has been sidelined since he sustained a season-ending knee injury last Sept. 25 against Denver.
Whether or not he is forced to sit out the start of the regular season for disciplinary reasons remains to be seen. There is no word on when Goodell will make a decision on Britt’s status.
“I’ve been anxious since [Sept.] 25 of last year and I’ve been working hard at it,” Britt said. “I’ve been trying to stay healthy and stay on the field. But things happen and I’ve had some bumps in the road. Now I’m just going to continue to keep on going forward.”
• Middle men: It was a day of differences for the players who, until a week ago, were expected to battle to be the starting center.
Kevin Matthews returned to workouts after having missed a week with a concussion. Eugene Amano formally was placed on injured reserve with a torn triceps, which ended his season. Amano was injured during last Thursday’s practice.
“I think [Matthews] is excited to be back out there,” Munchak said. “It is hard for somebody to miss four to five practices, from what I can tell he was able to do everything [Wednesday]. We are going to see how he responses these next few days.”
In response to the injuries, Fernando Velasco moved from right guard to center and possibly made himself the one to beat for the starting assignment.
• Roster move: The Titans signed veteran safety Tracy Wilson, who spent six weeks last season on the New York Jets’ practice squad and then played in the final five games of the season.
A product of Northern Illinois, he made himself available for the 2011 supplemental draft but was not selected. He signed with the Jets after that.
“We’ve always been kind of short there,” defensive coordinator Jerry Gray said. “… We were trying to find the bast guy, not just ‘a guy.’ When you do that, we get better as a defense.
“… We’re trying to find somebody who’s going to push the other guys in front of him and hopefully make those guys better. If not, he takes their spot.”