Damian Williams and Jared Cook grew close with O.J. Murdock after living with the Tennessee Titans' wide receiver for extended periods.

Murdock had been staying at Williams' home in Tennessee since February during offseason workouts at the Titans' facility. Cook and Murdock were suite mates along with Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice and former Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley at the University of South Carolina.

Williams, a third-year wide receiver, and Cook, a fourth-year tight end, were among the Titans' players who dedicated Monday's practice to Murdock. The second-year wide receiver passed away on Monday morning after an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound in Tampa, Fla., local police said.

“It's sad that he's not here,” said Williams, who made several acrobatic catches on Monday afternoon. “He would want us to come out here and ball out.”

Murdock was away from the team in Florida, as he recovered from an Achilles injury. Williams spoke with Murdock on Friday after the former Gamecocks' wide receiver did not report to training camp. “He told me he was doing alright, he said he was going to be here on Sunday,” Williams said. “When I talked to him I just assumed it was a personal issue.”

Cook and Murdock both redshirted during their freshman seasons at South Carolina in 2005. The two stayed in contact after Murdock transferred to Pearl River Community College (Miss.) in 2007. McKinley passed away from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on September 20, 2010.

The Titans have yet to release any information on Murdock's funeral, but coach Mike Munchak indicated that several members from the team will likely attend. “When anything sudden like that happens it's going to be hard,” Cook said. “The best thing we can do is be around each other right now and comfort each other as teammates.”

Wimbley dips past Roos in matchup of seasoned veterans

A handful of Titans linemen had impressive individual moves in Monday's bull in the ring drill. A defensive lineman is given several seconds in the drill to rush past an offensive lineman in a one-on-one situation before the whistle is blown.

On the defensive side, DT Sen'Derrick Marks eluded C Eugene Amano on a rush, while DT Jurrell Casey powered past OL Fernando Velasco. OT Byron Stingily neutralized DE Keyunta Dawson on a spin move and OG Steve Hutchinson pancaked DT Karl Klug into the ground.

In one of the most anticipated matchups of the session, DE Kamerion Wimbley dipped past LT Michael Roos on a counter move and forced a fumble. “We just wanted to work the things that we're good at right now and then work on counters later on,” Wimbley said. “I was just going with a speed (rush), then a dip and rip.”

Wimbley, the Titans' top free agent acquisition on defense, has 16 sacks in the last two seasons. He could revitalize a defense that had just 28 sacks in 2011 (31st in the NFL).

No developments in Wright negotiations

Wide receiver Kendall Wright missed his fourth day of training camp on Monday as negotiations with the Titans' first-round pick continued. Wright and Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon are the only first round picks in this year's class that remain unsigned. “For a coach you just want everyone here,” Munchak said. “I know it's a business so you don't take it personally and you don't talk about it as a staff. We know at some point he'll be here.”

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