Titans updated game day status for L’Jarius Sneed, plus two suspicions confirmed with weekend roster moves ahead of Week 1

The Tennessee Titans face off against the Denver Broncos in Week 1, and it’s supposed to be the most lopsided game on the slate. The Broncos are the largest favorite of the day according to Vegas, and they’re the most-picked survivor entry in public competitions too. Tennessee is rolling into town knowing that all too well, and have a chip on their shoulders to put up a fight in Cam Ward’s debut that will surprise everybody. My final game breakdown and score prediction can be found at the link here.

On Saturday, the Titans made their final roster moves before the first game of the year. What they did (and didn’t do) confirms two things we thought we knew heading into the regular season. I’ve also got an update on both injured players listed as questionable heading into the weekend. Here we go:

L’Jarius Sneed And Kalel Mullings’ Status

Two Titans were listed as questionable on Friday’s final injury report: starting CB L’Jarius Sneed and rookie RB Kalel Mullings. Both will play in Denver, per source.

The extent to which each will be involved, however, is still a question. Sneed’s preparing to return to the field for the first time in over 300 days, and he didn’t return to practice until the very tail end of Titans Training Camp. While he’s expected to start, he’s not in a place with his conditioning to be an every-down player yet. I expect CB depth (probably Darrell Baker Jr.) to rotate in for him some this week.

Mullings suffered an ankle injury in the preseason finale against Minnesota, and has been limited in his participation since then. With Julius Chestnut on the roster backing up Tony Pollard, his potential absence today was more inconvenient than legitimately troublesome. But he’s expected to be involved in some capacity anyways. Being a rookie who is coming off an injury, I doubt we see a whole lot from him yet.

Roster Elevations Confirm Suspicions

The Titans announced two standard game day elevations from the practice squad on Saturday: C Corey Levin and DL Carlos Watkins.

This announcement cements two things we thought we knew. First, the return of Levin to the active roster for Week 1 confirms the fact that he is still this team’s backup center. When he was cut a couple days following the initial cutdown deadline, confusion ensued. Levin served as the Titans backup center all throughout camp while starter Lloyd Cushenberry was still working back from his torn achilles. I wrote at length linked here about why this move was purely roster gymnastics, and that Levin would be elevated for a while until he eventually returned to the active roster for good.

Then there’s what the front office didn’t do: elevate WR James Proche. Many (myself included) had Proche making the initial 53-man roster as the seventh receiver and starting punt returner. The way the Titans handled punt return competitions throughout camp pointed to him being the guy, especially since he has veteran experience doing it and this special team unit could really use as many reliable pieces to start the year of right—unlike in 2024. But Head Coach Brian Callahan and Special Teams coordinator Bones Fassel heaped confidence on rookie WR Chimere Dike when it became clear he was named the starting two-way punt returner last week, which you can read about in much more detail linked here. Proche’s omission from the practice squad elevations this week confirms it: Dike is the return ace. Now let’s see what he’s got…