Two key special teams players could return for Tennessee Titans
By Will Lomas
On Sunday the Tennessee Titans had to rely on rookie kicker Caleb Shudak against the Cincinnati Bengals.
While he wasn’t terrible, he did miss a layup field goal right before halftime that could have changed the complexion of that football game.
If there was any controversy in the fan base about whether or not he would be the starter from now on, that was shut down by Craig Aukerman during his media availability on Thursday.
While Randy Bullock isn’t going to the Pro Bowl any time soon, Aukerman called Bullock “the guy” when he is available.
#Titans ST coordinator Craig Aukerman: We want Randy Bullock to come back. He's the guy for us as long as he's healthy
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) December 1, 2022
His consistency has been missed and the Tennessee Titans’ coaches seem to have a good idea about where he is comfortable kicking from and what he can do. Even if Shudak does end up as a better kicker with more range down the line, clarity is more important than upside at this point in the season.
Tennessee Titans’ special teams ace could also return
Before he was providing some juice to the Tennessee Titans pass rush, Ola Adeniyi started his NFL career as a special teams ace.
In fact, at this time last year, Adeniyi led the AFC in Pro Bowl votes for a special teams player.
Getting Adeniyi back from I.R. would be a two-for-one type of deal considering that he has the bend and burst that no one else on the Tennessee Titans’ defense currently has. While it isn’t a given that he is going to be back this week, the fact that the 21-day window has opened up is a positive sign that he will be back very soon.
It would have been nice to get the special teams trifecta of Ola Adeniyi, Randy Bullock, and Kyle Philips all back in the same week, but it looks like it will be a little bit longer before the dynamic rookie is able to get back on the field.
Like they say though, two out of three ain’t bad and this team needs all the good news it can get when it comes to health. All eyes are on this week and the team with the NFL’s best record, but after this week the Tennessee Titans are going to have 4 of their last 5 games against AFC teams including 3 games against the AFC South.
The healthier they are for those games, the better.