5 Titans defensive starters after ruled out for Seahawks game, Mike Vrabel job questionable
That’s a lot of missing Titans.
The Tennessee Titans have released their final injury report for their Week 16 game against the Seattle Seahawks, and the list of players ruled out is lengthy.
If there’s any good news for Titans fans, it’s the fact that rookie quarterback Will Levis was at Friday’s practice and was listed as questionable. Levis, who didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday, sprained his ankle on an awkward sack taken in overtime against the Houston Texans. If he can’t go, then veteran Ryan Tannehill gets the nod. Tannehill started Weeks 1-6, so I wouldn’t technically consider him a typical backup quarterback when the year began with Tannehill as QB1 and Levis behind Malik Willis in the depth chart.
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That’s pretty much where the good feelings end. Tennessee has declared roughly half of its defensive lineup out, including a third straight game missed for All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.
Hooker, Simmons, Gibbens, Murphy-Bunting, and are all starters, but this doesn’t even begin to tell the story of how many defensive players the Titans are missing. Cornerback Kristian Fulton was put on season-ending IR with a hamstring injury after the comeback win over the Miami Dolphins, as was starting defensive lineman Kyle Peko with a calf issue. They also let go of four-year starter and run-stuffing defensive lineman Teair Tart after the Dolphins win over apparent attitude and effort issues.
In total, nine of the Titans’ top 16 defensive players in snaps played this year are either out due to injury or no longer with the team.
While this article is about the defense, the Titans also placed second-leading wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on injured reserve this week, and fourth-leading receiver Kyle Philips is not playing, leaving the Titans with only three wide receivers on the active roster who even have a catch this season. If you combined the total receptions by DeAndre Hopkins, Treylon Burks, and Chris Moore, you don’t even get to 90.
Yes, the Titans upset the Dolphins on the road two weeks ago. This is tangibly not even close to the same team. Tennessee’s reserves will be playing for pride and job security, so of course they can’t be taken lightly, but Seattle really cannot botch this game or else it’d undoubtedly be one of the worst losses of the Pete Carroll era.
