Tennessee Titans: Snap counts and top PFF grades from Week 9

Snap counts: Defense

Notes

-In another good sign of progress, defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons (49) saw his highest snap count total of the season. In his previous two games, Simmons saw 20 snaps in Week 7 and 33 snaps in Week 8. Slowly but surely the big man is getting more and more work, and he seems to have come out of it just fine.

-In the absence of defensive lineman Jurrell Casey, fellow defensive lineman Austin Johnson (30) saw the biggest increase in snaps. The 30 snaps was the highest total Johnson has played this season, with his previous season-high being 22 in Week 6. Johnson turned those snaps into four total tackles and one pass defensed. Other defensive linemen such as Matt Dickerson (7) and Isaiah Mack (5) were largely irrelevant.

-Cornerback Malcolm Butler, who might be out for the season with a broken wrist, logged 42 snaps before leaving the game early. Fellow corner LeShaun Sims saw 16 snaps, most of which presumably took place after Butler was out. That’s a good inclination that Sims will be filling in for Butler most of the time, and we could see some of corner Chris Milton mixed in when he’s healthy.

-Linebacker Wesley Woodyard (40) out-snapped fellow inside linebacker Jayon Brown (36), who suffered an injury during the game.

-Outside linebacker Sharif Finch saw 25 snaps in his return to the field, while edge rusher Cameron Wake saw just 12, which is the lowest amount he’s played during any game he’s been active for this season.