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Jurrell Casey’s injury will show need for improved DL depth

By Will Lomas

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 16: Jurrell Casey #99 of the Tennessee Titans celebrates his second half fumble recovery against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 16, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 16: Jurrell Casey #99 of the Tennessee Titans celebrates his second half fumble recovery against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 16, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee Titans need more help from the DL with Jurrell Casey out.

The Tennessee Titans placed Jurrell Casey on IR this week and it is going to really hurt the team.

Jurrell Casey is the leading sacker for the Titans which is a big red flag for that group of EDGE rushers, but that shouldn’t take away from Casey’s achievement.

It is interesting that Casey finishes with 7 sacks as a DT who was asked in certain situations to not even rush the passer but to open up lanes for other defenders to make plays. Whether you agree with Dean Pees or not in his decision to do that, the fact remains that when he has been on the field both he and the linebackers behind him have been very efficient.

The problem is now that the Titans are going to have turn to Daquan Jones, Bennie Logan and Austin Johnson for help.

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Jones has had a good game here and there over the past three years, but has largely been average at best. Logan has also had some nice plays, including last week where he drove the center back into the quarterbacks lap forcing the Wesley Woodyard sack that was nearly a safety.

Johnson is someone I had really high hopes for, but ultimately has been forgettable and may need a change of scenery this offseason.

This is a nightmare for the Titans because there was a 50/50 chance heading into the season that they thought they were going to have Ndamukong Suh and Jurrell Casey wreaking havoc on the DL. Instead, that position has become one of the weaker units on the team.

With Jurrell Casey out and a tough test ahead of them facing the Indianapolis Colts OL, the Titans front line has a chance to really show that Tennessee can afford to look at EDGE or WR in the first round.

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However, if they are the reason that the Titans lose on Sunday night then the microscope will be on those three as Tennessee heads into an offseason where they know they should have made the playoffs.

This is a big week for this unit and it could have serious implications for what Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel do with the team going forward. It is hard to think of the big picture when maybe the most important regular season home game in the history of the Tennessee Titans looms large, but it needs to be discussed.

Can the former Penn State standouts (a 2nd and a 3rd round pick) finally live up to their college pedigree? If not, it may be time to clean the slate and start over on the DL.

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