Kevin Byard no longer needs the tweet of Deion Sanders calling the All-Pro and Pro Bowl safety "a fan" as the lock screen on his cellphone.

The Tennessee Titans safety believes he squeezed all the motivation needed from that Twitter exchange Zemgus Girgensons Jersey , which fueled him throughout the offseason in his quest to be the NFL's best in his third season.

"You could be All-Pro, no matter what, you still have guys, you still have things to prove," Byard said Tuesday. "You still have to keep working."

That Twitter exchange in March started after the Hall of Fame cornerback and now NFL Network analyst tabbed Tyrann Mathieu as the NFL's top safety. Byard tweeted at Sanders , asking how he didn't mention either of 2017's All-Pro safeties. Sanders responded he knew who players and former players believe is the league's best.

"You continue to be a fan and i will continue being the man," Sanders wrote back to Byard on Twitter . Byard answered back that neither numbers nor film added up with Sanders overlooking Minnesota's Harrison Smith, Earl Thomas of Seattle and Kansas City's Eric Berry.

Support flowed in on Twitter for Byard from Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey , Ravens safety Eric Weddle and Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward .

Byard's numbers in 2017 speak for themselves.

He led the NFL with 10 total takeaways and tied for the league lead with a career-high eight interceptions and 87 total tackles to earn All-Pro honors along with his first Pro Bowl berth. He had the most interceptions by a player for this franchise since Richard Johnson had eight picks in 1990 for the then-Houston Oilers.

Defensive coordinator Dean Pees has coached safeties such as Ed Reed in his career. He's not looking to compare Byard to anyone, but Pees has made clear how impressed he is by Byard's hard work Tobias Rieder Jersey , leadership and professionalism.

"He'll come in and tell me, we always try to keep ahead of them and let them know what's coming in in the next day, and he'll come back the next day and have a question on something we haven't even covered yet, which tells me then he's doing all the right things," Pees said.

Byard had eight of the Titans' 12 interceptions last season, and the secondary has been working together since March with the target of being the NFL's best group.

Tennessee added cornerback Malcolm Butler to the group as a free agent, then lost safety Johnathan Cyprien last week with a torn ACL.

All the chemistry Byard and Cyprien had been working on over the past year and half now is gone. The Titans signed veteran Kenny Vaccaro on Saturday to replace Cyprien, and Titans coach Mike Vrabel said Byard will play a critical role in helping Vaccaro get in sync with the secondary. The Titans open the preseason Thursday night at Green Bay.

He's already seen Byard meeting individually with Dane Cruikshank in training camp to help the rookie learn, impressive to see in a young player.

"Kevin has taken on a really nice leadership role with our team," Vrabel said. "He started in the offseason with his ability to come in here and work and be diligent in his training Claude Giroux Jersey , continued by his studying and learning the defense and being able to explain it to guys."

The 5-foot-11, 212-pound Byard was the first pick of the third round in 2016 out of Middle Tennessee. Now the safety who's always been confident in what he can do believes he can do even more in the NFL.

"I feel like I barely scratched the surface with my potential," Byard said.

"And I just want to keep getting better. But at the end of the day, it's all about the team and I want to be able to bring everybody along because you know I could be All-Pro and all that stuff. But we're not winning games, we're not winning championships, it really doesn't matter in my opinion."

Follow Teresa M. Walker at teresamwalker

The Atlanta Braves, tied for the best record in the National League, return home from their brief two-game road trip to host the Baltimore Orioles, the team with the worst record in baseball.

The three-game interleague series begins on Friday at SunTrust Park.

Baltimore will start right-hander Alex Cobb (2-9, 7.14) against Atlanta left-hander Sean Newcomb (8-2 Jake DeBrusk Jersey , 2.70) in the series opener.

The Braves (43-30) split two games at Toronto and return home having won seven of their last 10 games. Atlanta has a three-game lead over Washington in the National League East.

The Orioles (21-52) have lost eight of their last 10 games. They dropped two of three games at Washington, although all of the games were within three runs.

Newcomb has made enjoyed a breakthrough season in his second year in the majors. Newcomb has posted two scoreless starts over his last three appearances, most recently on June 16 against San Diego. He struck out seven and allowed two hits in that six-inning start, which he won. That was a bounce-back for the southpaw, who had allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings against Los Angeles in his previous start.

“After you have a good one, you’ve got to be able to clear it and look forward to the next one,” Newcomb said. “You’ve got to treat each start as kind of a new thing, whether you had a good one or a bad one. That allows you to go out fresh every time.”

Newcomb leads the team in wins and has allowed two or fewer runs in ten of his 14 starts. He has never faced the Orioles.

“It’s good to see that maturity and confidence in him now,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “There’s no panic. I love how he stays pitch-to-pitch during a game. It’s just a young pitcher who is confident in what he’s doing and has faith in himself.”

Cobb has made five quality starts in 12 previous outings but has not pitched well in his last two starts, both losses. He allowed five runs in seven innings against Miami on June 16 and was rocked for nine runs in 3 2/3 innings against Toronto in June 10.

“Being out there and feeling comfortable is such a thing you take for granted Anthony Mantha Jersey ,” Cobb said. “I’m just really comfortable where I’m at. I’m able to execute a high amount of pitches. That’s going to lead to some success.”

He has one career start against the Braves in 2012. He allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out six in earning the victory.

With the series in Atlanta, Baltimore will not be able to use a designated hitter. That may be OK with Mark Trumbo, who is hitting .349 (15-for-43) in 13 games playing in the field, compared to hitting .233 in 27 games as the DH.

Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman has been among the league leaders all season. He leads the National League total bases (162) and is second in on-base percentage (.420) and slugging percentage (.579). His 93 hits are tied with teammate Nick Markakis for the league lead. His .332 batting average is second only to Scooter Gennett’s .336 mark.

The Orioles are expected to get slugger Chris Davis back in the lineup on Friday. He has missed eight games while making offensive adjustments after hitting .150 with 86 strikeouts in 57 games.

“I’m really looking forward to getting him back on the field,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “I’m really looking forward to getting the impactful player he’s capable of being.”

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