COLUMN: Titans' Injury Pileup is Becoming More Concerning Each Week
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ⏤ Head coach Mike Vrabel is handling the Tennessee Titans' recent influx of injuries exactly as he should be⏤staying levelheaded and continuing to preach the importance of a "next-man-up" mentality. "That is all a part of this job, just try to be as focused and as even keel as you possibly can," Vrabel […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ⏤ Head coach Mike Vrabel is handling the Tennessee Titans' recent influx of injuries exactly as he should be⏤staying levelheaded and continuing to preach the importance of a "next-man-up" mentality.
"That is all a part of this job, just try to be as focused and as even keel as you possibly can," Vrabel said.
"You just have to try and get everybody to understand that when you come into work, they can be active in the game and play a large role."
Five players left the Titans' win over the Bills on Monday night with injuries. Two, CB Caleb Farley and WR Cameron Batson, are done for the season with torn ACLs.
That damage is in addition to the already lengthy list of injuries Tennessee entered the game with; the Titans listed 14 players on their final injury report of the week.
The team also placed CB Kristian Fulton, a breakout DB previously playing at a very high level, on injured reserve.
For those inside the Titans' building, the optimism and pragmatism Vrabel highlighted are the correct attitudes to have; freaking out or panicking accomplishes nothing.
For those of us outside the Titans' building, however, it is probably time to start being concerned about the team's ever-increasing list of injured players.
To the Titans' credit, they are very good at turning Vrabel's consistent and persistent next-man-up motto into action, as DL Jeffery Simmons pointed out on Wednesday.
"You never know what's going to happen in a game, and I think our preparation during the week is getting guys ready for their moment," Simmons said.
But even for a team with a culture as strong as the Titans', a long list of injuries can cause problems.
When a star player who plays a major role in a game plan gets hurt, it's bound to force a team to put at least some plays in the wastebasket.
"There are probably a few plays that you would not have available because of somebody that is not in there," Vrabel said, adding that he felt the Titans handled losing WR Julio Jones well on Monday.
Injuries can also create logistical issues when they pile up at a single position, something the Titans have endured at cornerback.
"When you get to multiple guys down at a spot, that's when you've really got to come together as a staff and say, 'hey, what does this guy know?'" defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said.
"You're having to work through it on the sidelines. You have different personnel groups, and depending on how many go down, you've kind of got to adjust that. You might get out of something, certain calls, depending."
Additionally, having players come in and out throughout a game because of injuries can disrupt cohesion and flow on either side of the ball.
"It can make it harder, no doubt," QB Ryan Tannehill said. "Guys have to step in and pick up where the last guy left off, but we have seen guys do that."
Injuries are unfortunate and uncontrollable. There's nobody in the Titans building who deserves blame for the fact that, seemingly every game, four or more players make an early exit.
It's undeniable, however, that this team is pretty significantly beaten up.
So far, they've been bailed out by versatile players who have played well in relief of injured stars, WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine foremost among them.
"I definitely take pride in having a role on this team, and that means having to know a bunch of different positions," Westbrook-Ikhine said.
Eventually, though, the Titans are going to run out of juice if they keep losing players at this pace.
They're already getting set to face QB Patrick Mahomes the Kansas City Chiefs with a secondary that will feature Breon Borders and, potentially, Greg Mabin as key contributors.
The Titans need to get healthy, and they need to do it quickly.
- Batson image: George Walker IV/The Tennessean
- Farley image: Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean
