Why the Tennessee Titans haven’t put Kevin Pamphile on IR

Why the Tennessee Titans have kept Kevin Pamphile on the roster.

I don’t dislike Kevin Pamphile at all, and while I never thought he looked like a great potential starter at right guard he definitely looked like the best (non-Corey Levin) option the Tennessee Titans had coming out of training camp.

However, when he was injured in practice before the Cleveland Browns game, I assumed that it was an injury that he would get over fairly quickly.

As the weeks go on, it is becoming more and more likely that we won’t see Kevin Pamphile play this season unless someone else gets hurt.

If there was a chance for Kevin Pamphile to take his starting job back, it seemed like this long week would be his best chance, but it looks like that won’t happen after missing practice again. With nearly 3 weeks between his last practice and today, it is almost a given that even when he is healthy he is going to have to come in and shake some rust off.

The Tennessee Titans can’t start Jamil Douglas again without telling Marcus Mariota directly that thy don’t care about his health. So with rookie Nate Davis as the presumed starter in Week 4, the Titans will likely do everything in their power to make sure that he build chemistry with the two best OL right now in Jack Conklin and Ben Jones.

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Even if the Titans did decide to make a change at RG later in the season, I would guess that they would try to put Dennis Kelly there just for the simple fact that he is really good on the right side of the OL.

So, if Pamphile’s road to playing time is that long why even keep him active? If you put him on IR then you can bring him back in 8 weeks if you need him and it gives you another roster spot to use.

The answer has to be versatility.

Mike Vrabel believes that Pamphile can play offensive tackle and guard, which makes him a rare commodity in the NFL. This would allow the Titans to suit up a game day roster with only Pamphile, Kelly and someone who can snap as the backups.

This gives you two potential tackles, two potential interior linemen, and a rotational “jumbo TE” in Kelly.

That depth makes everyone more comfortable and Mike Vrabel is clearly trying to see the big picture and doesn’t want to sacrifice four weeks of that depth for a 4th string RB.

I don’t know if I agree with that or not, but it does make me feel a little bit better that there is at least a plan with Pamphile and that the Titans aren’t just completely mismanaging their talent. Which is fair to question after the last week.