Titans big-money offseason addition sidelined for 2 weeks with calf injury

Tennessee Titans cornerback Chidobe Awuzie was not a physical participant at Thursday's training camp practice. Awuzie initially went inside during the final team period of Wednesday's practice, according to John Glennon. Head coach Brian Callahan announced that the offseason addition will be sidelined for about two weeks with a calf injury when speaking with the media.

"Chido [Awuzie] is going to miss some time with a calf injury," Callahan said during Thursday's presser. "It will probably be a few weeks. He's out here, but he's not practicing," Callahan concluded.

Callahan later clarified Awuzie will be sidelined for approximately two weeks.

The Titans signed Awuzie to a three-year contract worth $36 million in free agency earlier this offseason. His absence could mean more practice reps for Caleb Farley, Tre Avery, and Gabe Jeudy-Lally as boundary corners. It's not devastating, but it's also not great news considering the Titans plan to manage L'Jarius Sneed's reps, the opposite starter from Awuzie.

A two-week absence would take Awuzie up until roughly August 8th. The Titans' first preseason game is against the San Francisco 49ers on August 10th. It's safe to assume the Titans will be cautious with Awuzie, meaning he'll likely miss their debut exhibition game. It's somewhat notable considering Callahan recently said the starters would play extensively in the preseason.

After that preseason game, the Titans will hold joint practice sessions with the Seattle Seahawks at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park on Wednesday, Aug. 14 and Thursday, Aug. 15 leading up to their scheduled preseason game (Week 2, Aug. 17).

It would be wonderful if Awuzie returned for those sessions. They're often more helpful than training camp practices versus your own team, and the Seahawks feature three outstanding receivers that would test Awuzie in coverage, such as D.K. Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Tyler Lockett.

Awuzie suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury in Week 8 of the 2022 season. A back injury, specifically a herniated disc, cost Awuzie portions of his 2023 campaign with the Cincinnati Bengals. It's now a calf injury that is derailing the early stretch of his training camp involvement with the Titans.

Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson is counting on Awuzie to help the Titans field a revamped secondary this season. The idea is it'll be Awuzie and Sneed on the boundaries with Roger McCreary playing the nickel. Hopefully Awuzie gets healthy and stays that way for the Titans shortly.