NASHVILLE, Tenn. – If healthy.
Those two words are attached to the Titans in a big way for the 2024 season, because they are attached to so many players.
How many? Let’s look through the Titans' depth chart.
S Jamal Adams – He’s had severe injury struggles in the last four years, missing 24 of his last 39 games with Seattle. The Titans have plans to play him in various situational roles. He got a one-year contract with less than $1 million guaranteed so they clearly know dependability is an issue.
WR Treylon Burks – The first-round pick from 2022 has missed 12 of a possible 34 games suffering a
toe injury, a concussion, a groin injury, a knee injury and another concussion. He’s in line to be the Titans’ fourth receiver with reduced pressure operating behind Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins and Tyler Boyd and they and coaches hyped him up during the offseason.
WR Kyle Philips – The wide receiver is in for a big training camp battle for a roster spot. To make it he will have to stay healthy, and that’s not something he’s been good at. In two years, he’s dealt with shoulder, hamstring, knee and hamstring injuries. Those injuries and a subsequent loss of the punt return job mean he played in only 13 of 34 games.
CB L’Jarius Sneed – The Titans took on some injury risk when they traded for the top cornerback from the Chiefs. He spent the bulk of time rehabilitating or working on his troublesome knee during the Titans' offseason work, on which he may have had offseason cleanup surgery. Ran Carthon has said the team is content to have him manage the knee during the week so long as he’s able to play in games. Sneed has missed only one regular season game in the past two seasons so the hope is he continues to have the same capability.
S Amani Hooker – The teams’ No. 1 safety has not played a full season in the last three years due to groin, concussion, shoulder and knee injuries missing stretches of six, three, three and two games along the way. His durability is a key now with the less well-rounded Elijah Molden and Jamal Adams as the other primary safeties, who are also both on this list.
CB Chidobe Awuzie – Missed seven games because of a hamstring injury in 2020 and nine in 2022 with a torn ACL. Two years removed from the serious knee injury he’s poised for a return to his top level. Overall through seven seasons, he’s missed 22 of a possible 114 (19 percent) to injuries.
OL Saahdiq Charles – From Mike Herndon’s piece on Charles from June 6th: “Charles suffered a calf strain during the 2020 offseason and then a dislocated knee cap that cut his rookie season short. The next season saw him miss the final game of the year with another knee injury. The 2022 campaign was cut short due to a late-season concussion and then another calf issue popped up last year. The calf problem has been a bit of a chronic issue for Charles that has hindered some of his development due to lost time and reps during the offseasons.”
DB Elijah Molden – He missed two games last year (hamstring) and 15 (groin) the year before. Perhaps he will be a beneficiary of the Titans’ new sports performance staff.
P Ryan Stonehouse -- He suffered a gruesome injury to his knee and lower plant leg Dec. 3, 2023 against the Colts and it's unclear when he will be ready to resume his duties.
WR Colton Dowell -- Will start the season in PUP after suffering a torn ACL Week 17 against Houston.
DT Jeffery Simmons – Simmons has done his best to tough out injuries the last two seasons and only qualifies at the very bottom of this list. He’s not injury prone but he’s been unlucky. He wasn’t the same after a Week 7 ankle injury in 2022 and a Week 13 knee injury ended his season in 2023, though he probably could have made an end-of-season comeback if the Titans had something to play for. The knee had him questionable for six weeks and out for two and the ankle cost him five games.
Also
OT Nicholas Petit-Frere – The top candidate to start at right tackle is coming off a shoulder injury that ended his season after Week 9, just his third game of the 2023 season. Recovery/ rehab was almost certainly the reason he was a non-participant in the team’s offseason workouts. He played all but one game as a rookie.
RB Tony Pollard – He didn’t miss games last year, but fractured his fibula in January of 2023 and his output was not the same the following season as he returned from the injury. Like Awuzie he's poised for the year after the year after his injury comeback.
ILB Kenneth Murray – The new inside linebacker missed the last two games of his final season with the Chargers with a shoulder injury. That’s presumably why he wasn’t involved in the Titans offseason work.
DT T’Vondre Sweat – The second-rounder suffered an undisclosed injury the first day of OTAs.
Near the end of OTAs, Brian Callahan said he was confident T'Vondre Sweat would be ready for camp.
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) July 17, 2024
A week out, I'm hearing the second-round pick is "expected" to be on the field for the start of things in a week.
Not sure if that's a bit of a downgrade or just semantics.…