Two Titans rookie will get a chance to prove themselves vs. Bengals
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans are depleted at the inside linebacker position. The dominoes first began to fall during training camp and have not stopped over the course of the regular season. The Titans lost inside linebackers Garrett Wallow and Chance Campbell for the season back in training camp. They also lost JoJo Domann, who […]
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans are depleted at the inside linebacker position. The dominoes first began to fall during training camp and have not stopped over the course of the regular season.
The Titans lost inside linebackers Garrett Wallow and Chance Campbell for the season back in training camp. They also lost JoJo Domann, who was waived with an injury designation.
That had Tennessee in line to open the regular season with Kenneth Murray Jr. and Jack Gibbens as the team's starters. But after making a trade for Ernest Jones IV, the Titans not only got a very skilled playmaker, but they added depth to a position of need just before Week 1.
For a while, all was well. But after a slow start to the 2024 season and disappointing results, the Titans cut bait and traded Ernest Jones to the Seattle Seahawks for LB Jerome Baker along with draft compensation. That forced Gibbens into a starting role alongside Murray, and the former undrafted free agent was playing the best football of his career.
Over the last month or so, Titans inside linebackers have been dropping like flies. Gibbens is out for the season with a broken ankle, Murray missed a game with a hamstring injury, Baker has been removed from the lineup due to poor play and injuries, and now Otis Reese IV has an ankle injury of his own.
I saw Reese in the locker room after practice earlier this week walking with a severe limp and his right ankle wrapped up. It didn't look promising for his chances to play against the Bengals.
"We'll see. He got hobbled up in practice a little bit and we'll see how he ends up by Sunday. He didn't practice today, so we'll see where he ends up. But definitely not ruling him out at this point," said Titans head coach Brian Callahan about Reese on Friday afternoon.
James Williams and Cedric Gray
So where does that leave the Titans in Week 14 against the Bengals? More likely than not, rookie linebackers James Williams and Cedric Gray will get a chance to prove themselves on defense this weekend.
Callahan was very complimentary of both Gray and Williams and the job they have done on special teams. Both guys had some struggles earlier in the season, but have acclimated nicely. That goes a long way with a coaching staff that believes you earn your defensive playing time with special teams production.
Williams has six tackles and a fumble recovery in nine games played on special teams this year. Gray has only appeared in three games (the last three), but has made a special teams tackle in every one. Neither rookie has played a single defensive snap up to this point. But on Sunday, the expectation is for one or both of those guys to "get a little bit of rotation at linebacker," likely with veteran Luke Gifford.
We are entering audition season for the 2024 Titans as some of the younger players will get a chance to prove themsleves for 2025. Gray and Williams are next up with that opportunity.
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