Time to heal the wounded
Going into Week 10, the Titans were missing a slew of important players, particularly on defense.
Tennessee was without key pass-catchers in wide receiver Corey Davis and tight end Delanie Walker, as well as defensive stars like defensive lineman Jurrell Casey and inside linebacker Jayon Brown.
The most important of those four injured players are undoubtedly Casey and Brown. The Titans’ defensive line never really looks the same without Casey, and Brown’s ability as a coverage linebacker simply cannot be replaced.
Together, their absence is a huge blow to Tennessee’s defense.
With an extra week to get those four players right, Tennessee could be looking at a situation in which they are fully healthy in Week 12, with the exception of cornerback Malcolm Butler, who was placed on injured reserve last week.
As head coach Mike Vrabel noted during the week, he’s hopeful Walker, Davis, Casey and Brown will be back in business before the Week 12 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
#Titans HC Mike Vrabel said he’s hopeful Delanie Walker (ankle), Jayon Brown (groin) Jurrell Casey (shoulder), Corey Davis (hip) will get back to work after the bye week.
— Erik Bacharach (@ErikBacharach) November 11, 2019
If the Titans are going to finish the season strong, they need all hands on deck, and this bye week will give the team an opportunity for extra time to get all of these players healthy.