The circumstances surrounding Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor has been one of the more disappointing storylines to develop this season. Taylor was benched in consecutive Weeks (6 and 7) after failing to meet expectations. The problem may have solved itself in Sunday's Week 8 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Taylor had been benched at cornerback in favor of Joshua Williams. The Titans were adament that Taylor was capable of playing boundary cornerback after signing him to a three-year, $58 million contract in free agency. It took a five-week sample size for Robert Saleh and staff to change their minds.
Coach Saleh had been saying the Titans were preparing Taylor to play nickel corner, his most familiar NFL position. The problem there was that Titans nickelback Marcus Harris was playing well and did not deserve to be benched. Well, Harris left Sunday's game with an injury and Taylor replaced him, possibly providing Saleh with a solution he didn't ask for.
The Marcus Harris injury might provide an unfortunate solution to the Titans' Alontae Taylor problem
Taylor replaced Harris and played a sizable 41 snaps at nickelback. It was his first snaps of the season at inside corner for the Titans. The former University of Tennessee standout totally capitalized on the opportunity.
Taylor helped force a Chase Brown fumble on a rep where he never had a solid handle on the football. It was a crucial turnover at midfield recovered by the Titans following a lengthy replay review. Taylor also broke up a Joe Burrow two-point conversion pass in the end zone.
Taylor wasn't perfect in coverage. The Manchester, Tennessee native allowed six receptions for 82 yards. It was a tough assignment, with the Bengals often moving star receiver Ja'Marr Chase into the slot. All things considered, Taylor played well and made impact plays as a blitzing run defender too.
Marcus Harris injury update could determine Alontae Taylor's role
The Titans are entering a bye week. As Coach Saleh reminded the media via his virtual presser on Monday, injury reports and updates aren't provided during the off-week. We'll likely have to wait until next week to receive a proper update on Harris' status.
Harris eventually walked off gingerly and looked genuinely injured. If he's sidelined for any significant amount of time, the Titans will have found an unexpected solution to their Taylor problem. If Harris avoided a serious injury, then Saleh and staff will have to continue sorting through what to do with Taylor.
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