Rookie wide receiver JaVonta Payton is Arizona Cardinals' Nashville ambassador

NASHVILLE — If JaVonta Payton wanted to show the folks in his hometown what he can do as an NFL wide receiver, he seized his opportunity on Wednesday when Payton's Cardinals practiced against the Tennessee Titans at the Titans' facility.

Payton, a rookie from Tennessee, is also a Nashville native. He finished the joint practice with a difficult catch in the Cardinals' offensive two-minute drill and is playing well on special teams, head coach Kliff Kingsbury said.

As the only player with the team from Nashville, Payton has been a popular guy when it comes to restaurant recommendations and things to do, places to go.

"Everybody was just calling my phone talking about 'Where do I need to go eat at? Where do I need to go?'" Payton said. "What a lot of people don't know about Nashville, especially my teammates, everybody keeps telling them it's country around here. I don't think they know about how good our chicken is and we've got really good restaurants. So I'm excited to show them about the different types of restaurants and just the views downtown. They don't know anything about Broadway. A lot them are West Coast guys and they've never been over here, so I've got to get them downtown and show them around."

Payton spent the flight from Phoenix to Nashville telling his teammates about all the best parts of the city. He never felt comfortable through two seasons at Mississippi State after two junior college seasons.

"Something just kept telling me to go back home, the whole four years I was in college," Payton said. "When I had the opportunity, I took advantage of it, and it was really the best decision I've ever made. It helped me get to where I'm at today."

Payton, like many young Cardinals players, has gotten more opportunities to play in preseason games and more snaps in practice with the starters being limited.

Read more: Energized Cardinals open week with strong practice vs. Titans

Ford makes practice debut

Cody Ford, acquired in a trade earlier this week with the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2023, was in uniform and pads on the field for practice Wednesday.

With the Cardinals' injuries at guard, Ford was immediately in with the first-team offensive line at left guard, Justin Pugh's spot.

"Big, nasty, obviously has played at a high level whether its college or when he had a chance in Buffalo," Kingsbury said. "We're excited. To be able to come out there and pick enough up to go in there is pretty impressive."

Baker's cameo

Cardinals safety Budda Baker appeared at the end of this week's HBO Hard Knocks episode featuring the Detroit Lions' preseason. The Cardinals will be the in-season team followed on the popular TV series.

Baker, shown in a weight room, walks into view to do some shoulder shrugs. When finished, he re-racks the weights.

"Those were 110s, baby," Baker said of how heavy his weights were. "They just wanted to watch me lift, so I was like 'All right then, I'm going to get my lift in."

Just visiting

Former NFL wide receiver and Danny Amendola stopped by practice Wednesday as a guest of Kingsbury.

The two are Texas Tech alums and longtime friends. Amendola recently retired from football after 13 seasons. He's a two-time Super Bowl champion from his New England Patriots days.

Amendola also has a connection to Cardinals wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson.

"I just told him since he didn't have too much to do these days, to just come join us and talk to those (Cardinals) receivers. He played for Coach Jefferson with the Dolphins so they have a great relationship," Kingsbury said. "So it was great to have him. He's going to Paris on Friday so I'm really, really jealous."

Former teammates lead teams

Kingsbury and Titans head coach Mike Vrabel were together with the New England Patriots and have known each other almost 20 years. The two collaborated to set up a modified joint practice Wednesday.

"He was one of those guys that you could see his knowledge of the game, his charisma, the way he talks with people. He was the one dude in the whole building that could give Coach Belichick (a hard time)," Kingsbury said of Vrabel. "When you talk football it's just on a different level for a player that I've been around. It doesn't surprise me at all the success he's had. Very competitive, and has created a great culture here. He used to mess with me a lot. But I'll get him back one of these days."

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rookie wide receiver is Arizona Cardinals ambassador in Nashville