NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Missing practice this late in the offseason isn't easy for Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae.
The 15-year NFL 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 Jevon Kearse, who's returning from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, back on the field for individual drills Tuesday. But Tennessee will wrap up its offseason Friday with the last of its organized team activities, and Mawae still will be limited to watching his teammates work without him.
Mawae is coming off a Pro Bowl season in which he anchored a Titans offensive line that set a franchise record by allowing just 12 sacks, which also tied the Denver Broncos for the fewest in the league.
Mawae was hurt during a Dec. 21 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he delayed surgery for the chance to take the field for a play in case the Titans reached the Super Bowl. Instead, the AFC's No. 1 seeds lost a divisional-playoff game to the Baltimore Ravens, so Mawae had surgery.
It wasn't the best timing for someone who turned 38 in January and is heading into the final year of his contract. But Mawae, who's also president of the NFL Players Association, insists he isn't 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 the Buffalo Bills in the Hall of Fame Game.
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"We're taking it as it comes," he said. "I'm only five months out this week since my operation. It's my recovery time. We'll see how things play out."
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 in 2008.
"The wait-and-see part is what's going to happen over the next six to eight weeks," Mawae said.
Mawae has missed each of the Titans' last two playoff games because of injuries. A strained calf muscle kept him out of a wild-card loss at San Diego after the 2007 season, and Leroy Harris replaced him in last year's game against Baltimore. Harris was a fourth-round pick in 2007 out of N.C. State and has received all of the work with the first-team offensive line this offseason.
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 Jake Scott was the only addition last year as a free-agent signee, and Mawae said that familiarity will help him pick up where they left off.
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"We didn't change the system," he said. "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."
Notes: Paul Williams aggravated a groin muscle early Tuesday, and Titans coach Jeff Fisher said the wide receiver likely will be held out of the final two sessions this week. ... Rookie WR Kenny Britt had to have his right hamstring massaged early in practice and was backed down. Fisher said the Titans don't want a setback with their No. 1 draft pick. ... The offense struggled with lots of dropped passes Tuesday, and CB Vincent Fuller had two interceptions. Asked about the drops, Fisher said he believed WR Lavelle Hawkins "forgot to bring his hands to practice."
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
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