Outside linebacker Arden Key, cornerback Roger McCreary and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons all were full participants and running back Tony Pollard was limited. This is a positive sign for Key and McCreary who sat out Wednesday due to injury.
The same cannot be said about cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and tackle Leroy Watson, as both players missed their second day of practice heading into Week 11. They were joined on the sideline by defensive back Justin Hardee, who was limited on Wednesday with a groin injury.
The Titans will wrap up their practice week on Friday and release their final injury report.
The Titans complete Thursday injury report is below.
Did not participate: CB L’Jarius Sneed (quad), OT Leroy Watson (back), CB Justin Hardee (groin)
Limited participant: RB Tony Pollard (NIR/rest)
Full participant: DT Jeffery Simmon (NIR/rest). CB Roger McCteary (knee), OLB Arden Key (back)
The Tennessee Titans square off in a Sunday afternoon battle against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11. Here are three reasons for concern.
The Tennessee Titans host the Minnesota Vikings at Nissan Stadium on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CST.
The Titans’ 2024 season has been rough. Not that anyone expected Brian Callahan to come in and take this team to the Super Bowl in his first season, but people expected a better showing than what we’ve seen so far. It’s not all bad, but there’s a lot of work to be done.
The Vikings, on the other hand, are 7-2 and sit in second place in the NFC North, right behind the Detroit Lions. Their biggest goal is to keep winning and hope the Lions lose or they make wild card weekend. In the toughest division in the NFL this season, the Vikings have their work cut out for them to make the postseason.
Those concerns don’t start for the Vikings this week, though. Up against a Titans team that isn’t playing like it can, the Vikings are heavy favorites this week. That’s certainly a cause for concern for the Titans, although not the only one. Let’s take a look at three causes for concern for the Titans heading into Week 11.
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Vikings boast the top run defense in the NFL
The Vikings typically have a strong defense year-to-year, but this year they hold the top spot in the league with their run defense. In 2024, the Vikings have allowed just 711 rushing yards, that’s an average of 3.8 yards per carry or 79 yards per game. They’ve allowed only two run plays over 20 yards and only one over 40 yards. This is as stout of a run defense as we’ve seen in a long time.
The concern here is that the Titans’ offense goes through Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears on the ground. That is simply not going to be effective against the Vikings, so Brian Callahan and Nick Holz better have a plan in place for when the run game fails.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
More defensive players sporting injuries
Titans cornerback L’Jarius Sneed has missed weeks with a quad injury, which was recently revealed to be a substantial bruise and a strain. He’s not happy and feels guilty that he’s not out there on the field, but he’s not alone. Injuries on the defensive side of the ball have been a problem all season. The concern this week is there are three new defenders with injuries: Arden Key has a back injury, Roger McCreary is dealing with a knee injury, and Justin Hardee has a groin injury.
We won’t know if they will carry an injury designation into the game until Friday, but that none of them practiced on Wednesday shows they all needed rest.
The severity of these injuries isn’t apparent yet, so all three of them may still play this week. Even so, the defense is already struggling with injuries and fatigue, so adding more isn’t helpful.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
The offensive line is still a problem
Last week, Will Levis was sacked seven times. The Los Angeles Chargers rank fifth in sacks this season, and the Vikings are right behind them in the sixth spot. They’ve recorded 30 sacks this season, and the Titans’ offensive line simply isn’t going to fare well against the Vikings’ defensive front.
Leroy Watson IV and John Ojukwu will likely continue to rotate at right tackle, although Watson is nursing a back injury now, so who knows how much he will play. On the left side, rookie JC Latham has largely done his job well, but fatigue started to set in last week against the Chargers and could be seen in his play.
The Titans’ offensive line has allowed 28 sacks this season and seven of them happened last week. Brian Callahan and Nick Holz have to find a way to keep Levis protected against a strong Vikings defense in Week 11.
The Tennessee Titans returned to the practice field Wednesday and released their first injury report for the week.
The Titans seemed to be making progress on the injury front heading into their 27-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. With the week’s first practice on hand, it will be the first chance to see if some ailing players could return this week.
The most notable injury remains cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. His quad injury has kept him out for an extended period. Heading into Wednesday, Sneed has not practiced in any capacity since the injury. Unfortunately, Sneed has continued to be sidelined.
Multiple starters joined him on the sideline, including defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, outside linebacker Arden Key, Cornerback Roger McCreary, running back Tony Pollard, and tackle Leroy Watson IV.
Defensive Back Justin Hardee was limited with a groin injury.
The Titans’ Wednesday injury report can be found below:
Did not participate: CB L’Jarius Sneed (quad), Jeffery Simmons (NIR/rest), RB Tony Pollard (NIR/rest), OT Leroy Watson (back), CB Roger McCreary (knee), OLB Arden Key (back)
Here are some important things to know about the Titans ahead of the Week 10 matchup with the Chargers.
The Chargers are at home to face the Titans on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 1:05 p.m. PT.
To get you prepped for the Week 10 bout, here are five key things to know about Los Angeles’ opponent ahead of the matchup.
How things are going…
The Titans are 2-6 on the season. Tennessee snapped a three-game losing streak after beating the Patriots last Sunday.
Porous passing game
The Chargers shouldn’t have to worry about the Titans presenting a problem through the air. Tennessee currently ranks 31st in passing offense, averaging 170.8 yards per game. Mason Rudolph has served as the Titans’ starting quarterback in the last three games, while Will Levis has been sidelined with a shoulder injury. Rudolph had his most productive outing last weekend, throwing for over 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tennessee is hopeful that Levis can play this weekend. In five games, Levis has completed 66.4% of his passes for 699 yards and five TDs to seven interceptions.
Ground game is working
While the Titans’ passing attack hasn’t been efficient, their offense has benefited from the running game. Tennessee is 12th in that department, averaging 125.6 YPG. Tony Pollard, who was acquired this past offseason, has been a key playmaker in the team’s offense. Pollard has rushed for 622 yards and three scores, with an average of 4.4 yards per carry.
Stiff defense
You can’t attribute the Titans losing as many games as they have to their defense. Tennessee ranks No. 1 in total defense and passing defense. They’re also third in yards per play allowed and 11th against the run. However, they’re allowing a handful of points, as opponents are averaging 26.6 PPG (26th). This speaks to their struggles in the red zone, as the Titans are 26th in this category.
Look out for…
Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. The Chargers’ interior offensive line has struggled this season, and Simmons can give them fits. Simmons generated a season-high seven pressures and a sack on 37 pass rushes in Week 9 against the Patriots, including three pressures in under 2.5 seconds.
The Titans received calls on three key defensive players ahead of the trade deadline but stood firm and kept their defense intact.
The NFL trade deadline came and went on Tuesday at 4pm EDT, and the Tennessee Titans phones rang, but no trades were made. Specifically, the Titans received calls regarding defensive end Jeffery Simmons, linebacker Arden Key and defensive end Sebastian Joseph-Day.
The Titans have received calls on a trio of defenders:
The Titans’ defense currently allows the least amount of yardage per game, and these three players have four sacks (Key), three sacks (Simmons) and 2.5 sacks (Joseph-Day) on the season.
The Titans, however, weren’t interested in dealing Simmons at all.
The #Titans responded to Jeffery Simmons trade inquiries with a firm “No,” per @DMRussini.
As for Key and Joseph-Day, if they were considering trades, no one offered the Titans what they wanted in return. Aside from their ability to get to the quarterback, both Key and Simmons have a fumble recovery this season.
This Titans’ defense is solid and is the only reason the team won over the New England Patriots on Sunday. It didn’t allow the Chicago Bears to score a touchdown in Week 1. And even with the loss of Ernest Jones IV, the defense seems to have gotten even stronger under Dennard Wilson.
Keeping the Titans’ defense intact signals that the Titans want to keep winning. They like the pieces they have in place and want to build on what Wilson has started this season.
After seeing only two players miss practice on Wednesday, the Tennessee Titans watched that list double on Thursday.
After watching two veterans sit out practice on Wednesday, the Tennessee Titans saw an increased number of players sit out on Thursday when the team returned to the practice field. Going into the week, the team appeared to be set up well from a health perspective and are relatively healthy. But as the
week crawls toward a close, more questions arise.
Key, the veteran edge rusher, has been dealing with a hamstring injury for the past week. Initially diagnosed with a slight hamstring injury, he missed some time last week prior to the preseason finale but did take the field on Wednesday, matching head coach Brian Callahan’s initial assessment.
Reese is more of a question mark. The linebacker missed some time last week being inside the league’s concussion protocol. Though he practiced on Wednesday, it is reported that he is still making his way through protocol.
With over a week until kick off the season Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, the Titans have time to get to full strength. Will they? Time will tell.
Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Arden Key will be sidelined for the next week with a minor hamstring injury, head coach Brian Callahan said via Jim Wyatt.
The 28-year-old tweaked something in a rep against JC Latham on Wednesday and was absent from Thursday’s training camp practice. It’s probably a safe bet to count Key out for Sunday’s preseason finale in New Orleans, but the Titans hope to have him back next week.
Of course, the major news surrounding Key this offseason was his pending six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
The linebacker, who recorded 30 tackles and six sacks in his first season with the Titans last year, won his appeal and can suit up in Week 1 of the regular season.
Tennessee is expected to let its starters play around three series against the Saints on Sunday. With Key unlikely to go, look for Jaylen Harrell to continue to make some noise.
The seventh-round pick in this year’s draft has been turning heads in camp and the preseason schedule, and he has clearly worked his way into a rotational role this year.
Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons breaks down his breaking news story on edge rusher Arden Key.
Move over Adam Schefter, Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons unexpectedly joined the ranks of the NFL Insider when he broke a huge story on Saturday. Earlier that afternoon, he jumped on social media to reveal that edge rusher Arden Key had won his appeal and wouldn’t be suspended. On Wednesday, Simmons opened up about his reporting.
“I just broke the news to everybody,” Simmons said, “I was so damn excited to have my guy out there for the first game with me.”
Simmons didn’t dive into the specifics of the case, deferring to the NFL Players Association and Key for details. But Simmons and the Titans have reason to be excited about having their edge rusher back to bolster an already thin unit. It is extremely rare for players to have their suspensions totally nullified.
“When he told me, I was probably more happy than him,” Simmons said, “it was a good moment not just for him, but for the whole team.”
Even though the league has yet to release an official statement, the Titans are likely to have Key in place when they open the 2024 regular season against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 8.
Titans head coach Brian Callahan remains silent on Arden Key’s suspension, citing that it’s a league issue.
Tennessee Titans edge rusher Arden Key was handed a six-game suspension in July after he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. He, of course, appealed the decision as most players do. But winning an appeal against the NFL is incredibly rare, especially in this situation.
Despite that, it was recently revealed that Key did, in fact, win his appeal and he will not have to serve a suspension. The information didn’t come from the league, though, the news was actually broken on social media by Titans’ defensive end Jeffery Simmons.
Because there has been no formal announcement that Key won his appeal, Titans head coach Brian Callahan is remaining silent on the issue.
Callahan: Arden Key situation is a league matter, refraining from comment. Nothing I can do or say, we're still waiting on the league@Titans
Key is entering his seventh year in the NFL. Last year for the Titans he recorded 30 tackles (17 solo), six sacks and two forced fumbles. His production on the field would have been sorely missed as the Titans depth at edge is thin, at best. Even with his return, rookie Jaylen Harrell will likely see playing time this year.
The Titans travel to New Orleans to face the Saints on Sunday. Once the NFL makes its ruling formal, the Titans will be able to utilize Key once again.
Tennessee Titans edge rusher Arden Key will not have to serve a six-game suspension for performance enhancing drugs after winning his appeal.
Tennessee Titans edge rusher Arden Key was handed a six-game suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
Like every player who tests positive, Key appealed the NFL’s decision and on Saturday, we learned that he will not have to serve his suspension after winning his appeal.
Per @GrindSimmons94#Titans EDGE Arden Key has won his appeal and will NOT face a 6-game suspension from the NFL.
It’s a rarity for a player to win an appeal against the NFL in these cases, but apparently Key has done it and will not be forced to miss any playing time.
Key’s off-the-field issues stem back to his college days and resulted in his draft stock falling. He was eventually selected in the third round of the 2018 draft by the Oakland Raiders. He played three seasons with the Raiders before spending one season with the San Francisco 49ers and a season with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He signed with the Titans in March of 2023, inking a three-year, $21 million contract.
Over his career, Key has recorded 128 tackles (78 solo), 20 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and seven passes defensed. The Titans’ defense needs Key on the field, not just for depth but for making plays. As someone who’s been in the league, he knows his role and he does it well.
