Delanie Walker injury updates: The latest on Titans TE’s status for Week 9
Follow this tracker for all the latest injury and status updates for Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker in Week 9.
Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker was inactive for the Week 8 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to an ankle injury, but will he be able to suit up in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers?
Follow all the latest updates here.
UPDATE: Friday, November 1st at 2:28 p.m. CDT
Walker has been ruled out ahead of the Week 9 game against the Carolina Panthers.
#Titans injury report and game status vs #Panthers. Jurrell Casey, Ben Jones, Delanie Walker OUT. pic.twitter.com/yCDdLoRuQf
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) November 1, 2019
Jonnu Smith will once again see an increased workload with Walker out.
End of Update
UPDATE: Thursday, October 31st at 2:00 p.m. CDT
Walker didn’t practice again on Thursday.
Not practicing today for @Titans:
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) October 31, 2019
C Ben Jones (concussion)
TE Delanie Walker (ankle)
DL Jurrell Casey was present for team stretch.
Any return to practice on Friday would be a great sign obviously, but we know Walker doesn’t need to practice to play. We’ll know more tomorrow.
End of Update
UPDATE: Wednesday, October 30th at 3:22 p.m. CDT
Walker officially did not practice on Wednesday.
Titans official inj report
— John Glennon (@glennonsports) October 30, 2019
No practice: Walker (ankle), Ben Jones (concussion), Casey (shoulder).
Limited: Butler, Jackson, Landry, Milton, Saffold (concussion), Wake.
Full: Finch.
We’ll continue to track his progress as the week moves along.
End of Update
UPDATE: Wednesday, October 30th at 11:48 a.m. CDT
While Titans head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t seem optimistic that Walker would practice on Wednesday, he did say the veteran is progressing and that the week off helped his recovery.
Vrabel says Delanie Walker (ankle) is progressing. Feels the time off last week was good for him. Projects being able to see what his status will be after today. Didn't seem optimistic that Walker will practice today for #Titans.
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) October 30, 2019
We would expect the Titans to take things slow with Walker, so don’t expect him to practice Wednesday, and at best we’d see a limited practice on Thursday. What happens on Friday will be the biggest key to knowing if he’ll play in Week 9.
We’ll update this page when the official injury report is released later in the day.
End of Update
In Walker’s absence in Week 8, fellow tight end Jonnu Smith produced six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, his best game of the season thus far. A game like that could lead to more targets for Smith moving forward, so he could potentially hurt Walker’s fantasy value when he does return.
Walker owners would be wise to roster Smith, if they haven’t done so already.
The biggest concern for Walker is that the injury is to his ankle, and it’s the same ankle that forced him to miss all but one game in 2018. The last we saw of him, Walker was sporting a walking boot while walking out to the field to watch the Week 8 contest.
As of right now, there’s no indication that this is a long-term issue, so that’s the good news. Still, it’s hard to gauge what Walker’s status will be for an upcoming game because he has always said he doesn’t need to practice to play.