The Tennessee Titans have gotten a lot of production out of their rookie class this year, and overall it looks like one of the deepest rookie classes in the NFL this year (if not the deepest).
We saw the rookie class on display again when TE Chig Okonkwo had his first NFL touchdown and he caught the game-sealing pass despite seeing minimal playing time. Unfortunately, for the third time this season, one rookie pass catcher rises while another has to deal with an injury.
A rookie who wasn’t on the field on the final drive of the game was Treylon Burks who had caught a catch on the previous drive and then tried to tough it out for one more play before limping to the sideline. From there, he had to be carted to the locker room.
Every Tennessee Titans fan knew that it was going to be a while before we figured out exactly what happened to Burks given the team’s tight-lipped nature. However, a foot injury on the same terrible field that prevented Andrew Luck from ever fully recovering and the same place where fans saw Derrick Henry sustain the first real injury of his career, made everyone nervous and uncomfortable.
Luckily, it seems like the Titans dodged a bullet and Ian Rapoport reported that it was turf toe and not anything that would require surgery:
#Titans first-round WR Treylon Burks, who left yesterday’s game with a foot injury, has been diagnosed with turf toe, sources tell me and @TomPelissero. No surgery is necessary, just rehab. But Burks will miss some time.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 3, 2022
Now the question every Tennessee Titans fan is asking is, “What is his timetable?” Tyler Rowland did a great job digging into that situation on his podcast yesterday to provide fans with some answers.
When will Tennessee Titans fans see Treylon Burks again?
I should give some context here first. Dr. Chao hasn’t seen the details of this injury and he is just working off of general knowledge and a lifetime of previous experience.
While he gave a best-case/worst-case outlook, he talked about how a return for the next Indianapolis Colts game made sense:
How long does @ProFootballDoc think Treylon Burks will be sidelined?
— TicTacTitans (@TicTacTitans) October 3, 2022
“…I think it’s a realistic chance you’re trying to shoot for that 3 week mark.”
Check out the rest of Dr. Chao’s breakdown on Treylon’s injury on tonight’s Locked On #Titans show!
🎥: https://t.co/ybdtKDsXTe pic.twitter.com/v9svgFsTUT
It is touched on in that video, but personally, I don’t understand why the Titans would put him on I.R.
Unless this is an injury that you think will take a month and a half to recover from, it seems like a better plan to have him in the building and in the meeting rooms on a normal schedule so that he stays as mentally engaged as possible.
Also, teams don’t have unlimited chances to put guys on I.R. and recall them as they have in previous years, so this seems like a strange way to use one of your limited opportunities to send someone to I.R. for a month or so.
Putting him on I.R. means that he would miss games against the Washington Commanders, Colts, Houston Texans, and Kansas City Chiefs. That three-week timeline mentioned by Dr. Chao means that he would only miss the game against the Commanders.
Right now, an offense based around Derrick Henry, Robert Woods, Chig Okonkwo, and Kyle Philips, with some Dontrell Hilliard and Austin Hooper sprinkled in there, should be enough to keep the chains moving for at least one half of football.
The bye week might actually be coming at a surprisingly good time because, in theory, you could end up gaining Burks, Racey McMath, Elijah Molden, and Monty Rice, while also getting a healthier Kyle Philips.
That could do a lot for this Tennessee Titans team that finally seems to be building some momentum.