Absence of Tennessee Titans' Julio Jones is weird. Mike Vrabel's explanations are, too | Estes

I’ve twice heard Mike Vrabel attempt to explain why Julio Jones was suddenly benched during the business end of the Tennessee Titans’ win over the Indianapolis Colts.

And I still can't say why it happened.

After Sunday’s game, Vrabel's answer wasn't the usual dose of dodgy. It was bizarre to the point of not making sense. On Jones, Vrabel spoke about trying to “manage where he’s at” during a game in which receivers “were going in there trying to dig safeties out.” Jones is considered one of the best-blocking receivers in football, by the way. Vrabel complimented him for that exact thing after the Week 2 win in Seattle.

On Monday, Vrabel cleared it up a little, saying that Jones had something get “tight” physically and that Vrabel felt it was best to rest him – for health reasons, not performance reasons. Vrabel was adamant about that last part, stressing that other than one penalty for a post-play scuffle in the first game, “there hasn’t been one situation where I was disappointed” in Jones.

Um ... OK?

Why would that even come up?

1. As for Sunday's game, I guess Jones' absence in the second half really was precautionary? I mean, Jones didn’t look hurt while making some early catches and running down a DB after an interception.

If you don't want to risk his health in crunch time against your top divisional rival, when would you?

But Jones wasn’t the only weird and unexplained and presumably injury-related absence Sunday. Bud Dupree was active against the Colts, but he didn’t play – even with an immobile Carson Wentz presenting an inviting target for an edge rusher.

Vrabel said Dupree could have played in an emergency if a couple of teammates got hurt. But was it worth a roster spot just to have Dupree there as insurance?

I’m pretty sure the offense could have used an active Josh Reynolds after A.J. Brown (hamstring) and Jones were sidelined.

2. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was the Titans’ leading receiver Sunday and the unit’s leader in snaps, too, playing 53 of them (78%) on an afternoon in which no other receiver played more than 34. (Imagine trying to convince someone that would end up happening against the Colts in Week 3).

All credit to Westbrook-Ikhine, but it’s far from ideal for a team that has two of the best receivers in the NFL and – for reasons that have never been clear – has chosen to not practice or play either one that much since the start of August.

3. Taylor Lewan raised some eyebrows Sunday with his postgame comments about Titans fans booing him during the Week 1 loss to Arizona.

"I don't know what that's all about," Lewan said. "I'm coming back from an ACL — 10 months -- and it's a difficult process. And yeah, I wasn't playing well at all. ... I really wish I could articulate how difficult that was. It was just hard to hear the fans after seven, eight years -- as much as I've tried to do for this city -- boo when I came back out there."

He added about the fans, "That's crazy how fast they just turn. I'll never forget that."

I've seen this referenced as a rant by Lewan. As someone who was standing there, I can say it wasn't. It was Lewan explaining – and nearly getting emotional while doing it – the unsettling experience of a first game back from an ACL tear and discovering that he's not the same player he was. And then being booed in the middle of that.

That whole thing was odd, too. It happened because the Titans' new PA announcer for some reason alerted the stadium to Lewan re-entering the game. When does that ever happen for a left tackle?

As always, Lewan can become a lightning rod with what he says and does. But it’s silly to hold comments like these against him. No one would like being individually booed. Most players shrug it off publicly to avoid the hassle. But Lewan shouldn't be criticized because he was forthcoming about it. That's a good thing in my book.

4. What does Derrick Henry think when he sees his quarterback Ryan Tannehill scrambling and throwing himself into tacklers?

Same thing you probably do: "Slide."

"He doesn't do it," Henry added. "But that's who he is, right? He wants to go get in there and get the tough yards."

5. If we were giving out game balls in the column, one would go to Harold Landry. He was credited with five quarterback hurries against Wentz. According to the league's Next Gen Stats, Landry had 12 pressures and his 37.5% rate was among the best that has been tracked.

After the game, Landry said he feels like he's playing his best right now. Vrabel would seem to agree: "Harold is impacting the game. He's playing hard."

6. The Titans' latest first and second-round draft picks were inactive for Sunday's game. CB Caleb Farley has been working through a shoulder problem, while OL Dillon Radunz seems to be working through a not-good-enough-yet-to-contribute problem.

It's too early this season to shout about this, but we're heading in that direction again. It is discouraging to see a team that had to go so deep in its roster Sunday be getting so little out of its draft class for a second year in a row.

7. Sunday's inactive list also included a couple of surprising veterans whose stock appears to have dropped: Reynolds and FB Khari Blasingame. Each appeared to be healthy scratches. They weren't listed on Friday's injury report. Undrafted free agent fullback Tory Carter – whom the Titans liked a lot this preseason – was promoted from the practice squad and got 18 snaps (15 on special teams, 3 on offense).

8. On the Titans' second possession of the game, Vrabel boldly went for a fourth-and-4 at the Colts' 41. Tannehill found Jones with a 15-yard completion to extend a drive that ended with the game's first touchdown. The Titans never trailed in this game, and Vrabel's first-quarter call was rated by EdjSports as the fifth-best coaching decision for any team in Week 3.

9. Dane Cruikshank started at safety in Amani Hooker’s spot and ended up playing every defensive snap. Same for linebacker David Long, who continues to enjoy a large role while Jayon Brown recovers from a hamstring injury. Brown was active Sunday and played 10 defensive snaps (16%).

10. The Titans had six (of eight) possessions gain at least 57 net yards. The Colts only had two drives with that many – and each ended with a field goal.

Reach Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.