Tennessee Titans Cringe as Another O-lineman Heads to IR
Aug 30, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Rusty Smith (11) and center Kevin Matthews (60) and guard Ryan Durand (77) during the second half of a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints at LP Field. Tennessee won 10 to 6. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Unbelievable. Completely unbelievable. The Tennessee Titans have yet another offensive lineman headed to the IR this week after C Kevin Matthews went down with an injury early in the Titans Monday Night Football game against the New York Jets.
Lady Luck could not be taking a bigger dump on the Titans health this year. Let’s look at the list of guys on IR now:
- RT David Stewart
- OG Leroy Harris
- OG Steve Hutchinson
- C Eugene Amano
- C Kevin Matthews
- TE Jared Cook
- RB Javon Ringer
- FS Robert Johnson
- LB Zac Diles
- DE Keyunta Dawson
- DE Dave Ball
Those are the big names. There are still a couple guys from the practice squad and the like that I left off.
There’s also the guys who are just barely not on IR, such as Colin McCarthy, who has missed most of the season anyways but missed the Jets game due to the fact that he was still suffering from concussion symptoms. Rookie WR Kendall Wright cracked some ribs against the Jets and his status is still up in the air. Rookie DE Scott Solomon and WR Damian Williams also missed the Jets game due to injury.
It’s shocking how beat up the Titans have been this season. They’ve even had to suffer through their young QB missing a third of their games due to injury.
On the same note, it’s impressive how this offensive line has responded to such adversity with the backups playing as well as they can. Obviously, the run game has suffered at the hands of this patched up line, but they’ve at least let Jake Locker have some time in the pocket without getting destroyed.
But back to the main point at hand. With Kevin Matthews headed to IR, the Titans are once again fielding a new center and shuffled line with Kyle Devan stepping up into the center position.
The Titans head to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field this week.
May God have mercy on their souls.
You can find me on Twitter @JustinLStewart