The joint practices the Titans have scheduled with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of the preseason game Aug. 20 took a bit of a hit this past week when news emerged that Tom Brady would not be in Nashville for the two practice sessions or the game.

Not that Brady was likely to play in the preseason game Saturday, but the fact that he’s taking personal time away this week means that the Titans defense will instead be going up against Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask and Ryan Griffin.

Granted, Brady certainly doesn’t need the practice reps, and the guys backing him up need to try and distinguish themselves in the pecking order behind the future Hall of Famer.

However, the Titans defense was probably looking forward to competing against Brady on the practice field for the third time in the past four years, just to sharpen themselves for the regular season.

With Brady absent, the more intriguing matchup in the joint practice sessions now becomes seeing how the Titans’ offense fares against the Bucs’ stout defense.

Competitions are ongoing on the offensive line and at wide receiver, and the two sessions leading up to the preseason game will be a good measuring stick of who slots in where at receiver, as well as who leads in the competition between Dillon Radunz and Nicholas Petit-Frere for the starting right tackle position.

­­— Terry McCormick