NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans are banged up heading into a Week 9 showdown with the New England Patriots.

As the Titans look to get back in the win column and turn things around in front of a home crowd, the list of injuries is getting awfully long. Tennessee has already had 12 players miss practice time this week.

Head coach Brian Callahan provided an update earlier in the week on some key players for Tennessee. Among them were QB Will Levis, CB L'Jarius Sneed, RB Tyjae Spears, and others.

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QB Will Levis

Will Levis is listed as questionable on the Titans injury report heading into the weekend. He was a limited participant in practice throughout the week as the Titans coaching staff challenged his shoulder injury to see where he was at in the recovery process.

Levis was in a similar boat before Tennessee's game against the Indianapolis Colts and pushed himself to play. But when he was unable to make all the necessary throws and the Titans lost the game, it was clear he had rushed back too soon.

I think the Titans are going to be cautious with Levis. If I had to wager, I'd say the Titans roll with Mason Rudolph against the Patriots and give Levis one more week to get back at full strength.

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RB Tyjae Spears

Running back Tyjae Spears is another player listed as questionable for Sunday. The Titans' second-year running back has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. 

Brian Callahan seemed optimistic Spears would return to play in his press conference on Monday. "Tyjae should be good to go this week," Callahan said. "Again, we'll see. We'll take it day-to-day on what he feels like after some practices, but expect him to have a good chance to play."

Only one problem…Spears didn't practice on Thursday or Friday after limited participation in Wednesday's practice. Callahan described the hamstring issue as "lingering," and emphasized the importance of being careful with soft tissue injuries. 

Spears seems like a true 50-50 to play on Sunday. It likely depends on how he feels prior to the game.

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CB L'Jarius Sneed

CB L'Jarius Sneed was one of two players that Brian Callahan was able to rule out before the game. Sneed's knee injury will keep him out of a third consecutive game against the Patriots, and appears to be more serious than the Titans initially thought.

"Sneed, probably still week-to-week. I don't anticipate him being out there today," Callahan said on Wednesday. "We'll just kind of see, as the week progresses. I think he's hopefully getting closer."

What once seemed like a mild injury is now proving to be a major setback for Sneed. The Titans will once again start Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Darrell Baker Jr. at cornerback.

Will Levis needs to make the right decision on something he botched in the past

Will Levis needs to be smart.