Tennessee Titans: Ryan Succop talks knee issue that landed him on IR

Tennessee Titans kicker Ryan Succop spoke about the knee issue that landed him on Injured Reserve on Wednesday.

The Tennessee Titans will be without their starting kicker for at least the first eight weeks of the 2019 season after Ryan Succop was placed on Injured Reserve on Wednesday.

Succop made it clear that he didn’t exactly suffer a setback, but rather didn’t have the same “pop” in his leg when kicking, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.

Succop went on to say that he didn’t think it was fair to the team for him to be kicking at less than 100 percent, so he’s going to take more time to get right. He also says the knee is progressing well, but it simply isn’t where it needs to be at the moment.

Because he made the 53-man roster, Succop is eligible to return this season. He can come back after eight weeks, and chances are he will return given that he hasn’t suffered a setback and it doesn’t appear to be anything too serious holding him back.

Succop started training camp on the PUP list after having offseason surgery on his knee, but he did get cleared in time to play in the team’s final two preseason games. Succop made all four of his field goal attempts in those contests.

In his place, the Titans will deploy Cairo Santos, who spent 2018 with the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Santos and Succop were once teammates with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The new Titans kicker spoke to the media on Wednesday, also per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.

As far as histories go, Succop and Santos have similar career field goal percentages. Succop has made 83.6 percent of his kicks, while Santos has booted 83.2 percent of his kicks successfully through the uprights.

Santos will see his first action as a Titan this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 of the regular season.