NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Not practicing this late in the offseason isn’t easy for veteran center
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The 15-year veteran had surgery in January to repair a partially torn triceps tendon in his right arm, the one he uses to snap the ball. Now he’s five months into a six-month recovery from major surgery.
“The doctors and trainers feel good about it,” Mawae said Tuesday. “For me, it’s a little boring because I have never been this late into the offseason rehabbing before. Mentally, I’m working through that, but we’ll see.”
The Titans got defensive end ![]()
Mawae is coming off an All Pro and Pro Bowl season in which he anchored an offensive line that set a franchise record allowing only 12 sacks, which tied Denver for fewest sacks allowed in the NFL in 2008. Mawae was hurt Dec. 21 in a win against Pittsburgh and delayed surgery for the chance to take the field for a play in case the Titans had reached the Super Bowl.
Instead, the AFC’s No. 1 seed lost a divisional playoff to Baltimore, so Mawae had surgery. Not the best timing for someone who turned 38 in January and is heading into the final year of his contract.
But Mawae, who also is president of the NFL Players Association, insists he’s not worried about missing an offseason of on-field practice with his teammates.
“The thing that concerns me most is being conditioned properly and being ready for the start of training camp or whenever it’s time for me to start,” he said.
And when will that be? The Titans’ first practice of training camp will be July 31 and their first preseason game is Aug. 9 against Buffalo in the Hall of Fame game.
Mawae isn’t making any predictions.
“We’re taking it as it comes. I’m only five months out this week since my operation. It’s my recovery time. We’ll see how things play out,” he said.
That means Mawae has been busy working on recovering the strength in his right arm, redefining the triceps muscle and working on his conditioning. He said he has spent as much time in the Titans’ offseason program this year as a year ago.
“The wait and see part is what’s going to happen over the next six to eight weeks,” he said.
Mawae has missed each of the Titans’ last two playoff games because of an injury. A strained calf muscle kept him out of a wild-card loss at San Diego after the 2007 season, and ![]()
The offensive line is a strength of the Titans, and Mawae’s return from injury means that all five starters will be back. Right guard ![]()
“We didn’t change the system. The communication’s not going to change. ... All the same codes, same calls, things like that. It’s a matter of getting back in there and timing, things like that, with myself,” he said.
NOTES: Receiver ![]()
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