NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans starting one rookie on offense this season has been likely since they drafted wide receiver Carnell Tate at No. 4 overall in April.
Now, a fifth-round selection is pushing hard to grab the Titans' open job as their starting right guard.
Fernando Carmona Jr. was the lone rookie starter on offense for the Titans in their preseason opening win at San Francisco and is likely to start again Sunday night when Tennessee hosts the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
“He put his foot in the door, and he’s doing everything he can to throw his shoulder through,” coach Robert Saleh said of Carmona.
The competition for right guard started this offseason between veteran Cordell Volson, who started 48 of 50 games played with Cincinnati between 2022 and 2024, and Jackson Slater, a fifth-round draft pick in 2025. Carmona used his physical style with a touch of nasty to push his way up the rotation.
The result has been a lot of praise, which Carmona said Wednesday was awesome.
"I’m hearing it in the film room there’s a lot things I need to work on, and I’m going to continue to improve and grow,” Carmona said.
He has size at 6-foot-5 and 316 pounds. Carmona polished up his playing style by finishing his college career at Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference the past two seasons. He then worked on himself and technique working with offensive line coach Duke Manyweather fixing some of his flaws before the NFL draft.
Carmona can cover up his rookie mistakes with how he talks with veteran center Austin Schlottman to his left and right tackle JC Latham on the other side.
“It starts with communication, so they at least know what to do,” Saleh said. “Then from there you just take it, let your God-given ability take over.”
Carmona also is learning quickly thanks to trying to block All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and lineman John Franklin-Myers every day. Franklin-Myers said a rookie can need a moment to feel like he's welcome or belongs in the NFL with Carmona working hard and trying to own his position.
“He wants to battle, he wants to go against me, he wants to go against Jeff," Franklin-Myers said. "He wants to go against the best guys, and he wants to get better. He wants to pull you to the side, ask you the questions, maybe even take some extra reps if you’re willing and able, depending on the day.”
Carmona said a rookie wants to go up against the best and facing off against Simmons in training camp will make game days that much easier. Simmons also isn't shy about sharing advice with the rookie.
“Being a rookie, there’s a lot of things I need to grow on, and he sees a lot of those flaws in me,” Carmona said. "And it’s just awesome having that veteran leader being able to tell you what he sees and how it can improve my game.”
Latham, who played with veteran Kevin Zeitler beside him last season, called Carmona humble and a hard worker with a great attitude.
“When he messes up or he feels he could have did better, he’s blunt,” Latham said. “He’s extremely transparent about himself and communicating about himself on what he himself needs to do to be better. And you want to be around a guy like that, a guy who's not going to sugarcoat it."
Simmons, long snapper Morgan Cox and quarterback Cam Ward led the Titans in doing the Ice Bucket Challenge in honor of former Titans running back Chris Johnson and former linebacker Tim Shaw, along with Steve Gleason and other former NFL players dealing with ALS.
Shaw watched from his wheelchair as Simmons, Cox and Ward had big coolers of ice water dumped on them after Cox challenged the other AFC South teams to take part.
Johnson announced in late June he had been diagnosed with ALS and restarted the challenge as a fundraiser for research.
Tate did not practice Wednesday, and Saleh said the rookie was dealing with some stiffness. Fellow rookie Keldric Faulk went in with an injured shoulder late in practice, and Saleh said they hope that was just a stinger. Backup QB Mitchell Trubisky returned to practice after leaving Monday's session late holding his right bicep.
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Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh watches from the sideline during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
The Israeli military said Wednesday it will conduct criminal investigations into the killings of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl and her family and the separate killings of 15 paramedics, following a review of troop conduct during the war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, France announced it will expel two Iranian diplomats in response to the expulsion of French diplomats from the Islamic Republic this week. And the Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator landed in neighboring Iraq for a three-day visit.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Wednesday. Full coverage can be found here.
The Israeli military said it would investigate the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family members in February 2024, and the killing of 15 Palestinian medics in March 2025. Both drew international attention.
The announcement followed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct during the war in Gaza. The military said it would not launch criminal investigations into three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.
Rajab was killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle that also was carrying her aunt, uncle and four cousins as they tried to flee Gaza City amid an Israeli offensive.
The 15 paramedics were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on their vehicles in the southern city of Rafah, then bulldozed over the bodies and buried them in a mass grave. Troops first shot at an ambulance that was driving to retrieve casualties from an Israeli offensive, then fired on several other emergency vehicles that went out to look for the first one, according to phone footage and the sole survivor.
At least 10 people were killed Wednesday in two airstrikes in Gaza, according to local hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The attacks cast further doubt on whether new U.S. efforts can advance a tenuous ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.
Just two days after U.S. negotiators reportedly asked Israel to draw down attacks in Gaza, Israeli troops also crossed the ceasefire line in southern Gaza and detained a Hamas police colonel at dawn, two witnesses and a Hamas official said. They spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety.
— Samy Magdy and Wafaa Shurafa
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf arrived in Iraq for a three-day visit where he will meet with Iraqi officials and leaders of an Iran-backed political coalition.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias have launched drone attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic targets both within Iraq and abroad, piling pressure on Baghdad, which for years has delicately tried to maintain strong ties with both Washington and Tehran.
Qalibaf praised the country’s Tehran-backed militias, which he called the “resistance in Iraq," describing them as a “key component of the country’s national power.”
Iraq is asking Iran to grant special status to Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz because the country has been affected greatly by Iran's war with the U.S. and needs to guard its economic interests, according to a statement from Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi.
Iraq relies on oil revenues for roughly 90% of its budget, and most of its oil is exported through the strait. Since the war erupted and Iran asserted control over the strait, halting most shipping traffic, Iraq has turned to alternate routes, including sending oil over land to Syria, which is less efficient and more expensive.
France announced it will expel two staff members of the Iranian Embassy in France, in response to what the French Foreign Ministry described as an assault by Iranian security forces against two French diplomatic staff in the Islamic Republic last month.
Iran accused the French pair of taking part in a secret meeting with “suspects in a major case involving foreign infiltration and interference,” Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The French diplomats were expelled on Monday.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot slammed the Iranian authorities for not investigating what he called a “premeditated and deliberate attack.” He called the allegations fabricated and said the two Iranians will leave Paris in the coming days.
Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf visits the site where Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad International Airport, during an official visit to Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
An Iraqi security officer stands guard at the site near Baghdad International Airport where Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike, during a visit by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraqi security officers stand guard at the site near Baghdad International Airport where Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike, during a visit by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf visits the site near Baghdad International Airport where Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf addresses attendees at the site near Baghdad International Airport where Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
