The Tennessee Titans rookie class has been headlined by September's Defensive Rookie of the Month, Anthony Hill Jr., and October's Offensive Rookie of the Month, Carnell Tate. However, they aren't the only rookies who have made their presence felt on this roster.
Rookie right guard Fernando Carmona put out a lot of good tape in his first two NFL starts. Unfortunately, he was knocked out of the game against the New York Giants with an ankle injury that landed him on IR.
While there has never been a lengthy explanation of his injury, he did undergo surgery. The indication remained that it wasn't a catastrophic injury and that he would return this season. It has been six weeks since the injury, and the window is open for him to return to practice and attempt to get back into game shape.
Titans head coach Robert Saleh recently confirmed that Carmona could return to practice next week.
Is Tennessee Titans rookie guard Fernando Carmona coming back from injury anytime soon?
When Carmona and JC Latham were working together on the right side of the offensive line, they were consistently displacing defenders and creating paths that the running backs weren't exploiting. That won't be a problem when he returns, considering Tony Pollard's recent explosion of production.
Even without Carmona, the Titans' offensive line had been the strongest unit on the roster through half of the season with third-string right guard Atonio Mafi. If Carmona returns, this offensive line has a chance to jump into the top-10 and stay there, and it looks like they have the running game to make that mean something this time around.
The evolution of the Titans' offense over the last few weeks has been based on the running game taking pressure off Cam Ward and letting him use the running game to set up play-action passes or RPOs. In theory, that should only get better if the offensive line gets better.
While it might not seem overly exciting on paper, there is a real chance that Carmona's eventual return could spark the Titans' offense. Fans should keep an eye on the practice report and the press conference quotes to get a feel for the progress he's starting to make.
Add us as a preferred source on Google