It isn't a stretch to say the Tennessee Titans want to stay healthier this year.

Well, check that. It kind of is.

Two of the Titans' primary objectives in their first year under coach Brian Callahan have to be figuring out why injury rates have been so high the past three years and how to reverse the trend. Based on the first two training camp practices, that focus remains at the forefront.

The team stretch period at the beginning of practice remains longer than it was under previous coach Mike Vrabel's regime. Deep passing plays aren't being called in 7-on-7 or team periods, to prevent players from putting unnecessary wear on their bodies before they've gotten in peak shape.

"It's more of a dynamic movement-warmup than just an old-school stretch," Callahan said of the pre-practice routine. "A lot of that is prepping the body for movement. (Director of sports performance Zac Woodfin) is really well-researched. He spends a lot of time thinking about those things, adapting when new information comes to light and new things to come into the warmup procedure.

"I think our players really responded to it well. I think they liked it. They feel ready for practice, and it's more about getting ready to go full speed and burst than it is just to stretch like we're all used to stretching, you know?"

"That's by design," Callahan added about the lack of a vertical passing attack in the first week of practice. "That's to make sure that we don't put guys under too much stress too early."

BIG MAN, BIG PLAYS: Titans T'Vondre Sweat feels great, is moving well and won't back down on where 'the real UT' is

The depths of the Titans' injury woes are well documented. They used 91 players in 2021, an NFL record. They led the league in players used in 2022 (86) and 2023 (83) as well. Last year's Titans became just the sixth team since 2007 to start a different combination of 11 players on both offense and defense in every game across a full season.

There are plenty of conversations to be had about why injuries recurred so frequently at the end of Vrabel's tenure, especially when health wasn't much of a problem in his first three years with the Titans. And there's no guarantee Callahan and Woodfin's more modern approach will knock the injury rate down.

It's not as if the Titans spent their offseason refurbishing the team with players who've been paragons of health. Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie is already dealing with a calf injury after missing 22 games in the past four years. Safety Jamal Adams has missed 33 games in the past four years. Cornerback L'Jarius Sneed is on a load management routine to deal with a lingering knee issue. And that's just the secondary.

But the concerted effort toward reversing this trend and the active steps being taken to change the way things are done are worth monitoring as the Titans try to put their best 53 players on the field in September.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans roster: Practices designed to reverse injury trend