How injured are the Tennessee Titans
The old adage is that no one feels sorry for you in the NFL, but the Tennessee Titans have suffered so many injuries that maybe they deserve to be the exception to the rule.
Some teams have dealt with some key injuries, but recently the Tennessee Titans have used the second-most starters of any team in the NFL behind the New Orleans Saints (tweet below).
At this point, people have already forgotten injuries to key role players and potential special teams starts like Rashad Weaver, Cam Batson, Racey McMath, and Trevon Coley.
The @Titans have used the second-most starters in the NFL. 🏈 pic.twitter.com/7Von2Hnmu6
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) November 24, 2021
To illustrate just how bad these injuries have been, I thought that it would be a good time to go back and look at the roster that the Tennessee Titans built this offseason in all of their glory. The fact that the Titans even have a winning record is a testament to how deep this roster was and how well the coaches have done at getting the “next man up” ready.
Now, I feel obligated to say that there is some hope for this roster. If the Titans manage to secure the bye week, it would go a long way towards giving their banged-up players some rest, but even without the extra week, they are still only one game away from their first break in three months.
With that rest on the horizon, it is time to appreciate just how hurt this team is.
Tennessee Titans Week 1 roster
Starting offense:
QB: Ryan Tannehill
WR1: A.J. Brown
WR2: Julio Jones
WR3: Chester Rodgers
LT: Taylor Lewan
LG: Rodger Saffold
C: Ben Jones
RG: Nate Davis
RT: David Quessenberry
TE: Geoff Swaim
FB: Khari Blasingame
RB: Derrick Henry
This group is so talented that you just have to imagine what they could have done if this group had made it healthy until at least midseason.
I’ll talk more about the players that replaced the starters on the next page, but it is important to keep in mind that Taylor Lewan is still recovering from an ACL injury and hasn’t been right all season. He has struggled to keep his feet underneath him as a run blocker and in pass protection and while the good news is that the athleticism seems to still be intact, the coordination is taking some time.
Josh Reynolds didn’t crack the lineup as a starter, but again you have to wonder what would have happened if he was able to stay healthy in the preseason and if he was on the roster now. Would the Titans have beaten the Houston Texans if Josh Reynolds was on the field instead of Dez Fitzpatrick?
Starting defense
EDGE: Harold Landry
DL: Jeffery Simmons
DL: Larrell Murchison
DL: Teair Tart
EDGE: Bud Dupree
LB: Jayon Brown
LB: Rashan Evans
CB: Jackrabbit Jenkins
CB: Kristian Fulton
SCB: Elijah Molden
S: Kevin Byard
S: Amani Hooker
People forget that to start the season Tart and Murchison both played more snaps than Denico Autry. Even the healthy version of this group wasn’t healthy.
Another place that shows up is at linebacker where David Long started the season banged up. It is hard to say whether he would have gotten the starting job without the injuries to Jayon Brown and/or Rashaan Evans, but he has certainly earned it and never looked back.
Tennessee Titans Week 12 projected starters
Starting offense:
QB: Ryan Tannehill
WR1: A.J. Brown (?)
WR2: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
WR3: Chester Rodgers
LT: Taylor Lewan
LG: Rodger Saffold
C: Ben Jones
RG: Aaron Brewer
RT: David Quessenberry
TE: Geoff Swaim
FB: Tory Carter
RB: D’Onta Foreman
Nearly half of the Tennessee Titans offense is injured at this point and even though A.J. Brown is on this list of starters, he is mainly there because he hasn’t been declared out yet. There is a fair chance that the starting wide receivers include Dez Fitzpatrick or the newly acquired Golden Tate.
Starting defense
EDGE: Harold Landry
DL: Jeffery Simmons
DL: NaQuan Jones
DL: Teair Tart
EDGE: Ola Adeniyi
LB: Jayon Brown
LB: Monty Rice
CB: Jackrabbit Jenkins (?)
CB: Kristian Fulton
SCB: Elijah Molden
S: Kevin Byard
S: Amani Hooker
Like I said on the previous page, not all changes are bad changes. If you want a silver lining to all of these injuries, the rise of NaQuan Jones, Monty Rice, and David Long (even though he isn’t mentioned here) are all positives.
It is a shame that Caleb Farley was injured because the Titans have had a rash of cornerback injuries and it would have been a great chance for him to get some experience at the NFL level. His ACL injury has to make the Titans a little bit nervous about potentially cutting ties with Jackrabbit Jenkins this offseason.