Titans forgotten piece could return just in time for 2025 audition
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans are planning to designate wide receiver Colton Dowell to return from Injured Reserve this week, opening the 21-day window for his return to the active roster. Dowell is a local product that was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of UT Martin. He played in 10 […]
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans are planning to designate wide receiver Colton Dowell to return from Injured Reserve this week, opening the 21-day window for his return to the active roster.
Dowell is a local product that was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of UT Martin. He played in 10 games as a rookie on special teams with limited offensive snaps.
The hope for Dowell has always been to develop him as a receiver while keeping him on the 53-man roster for his special teams contributions. At 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds, Dowell has the physical makeup to be a special teams weapon. Anything else is gravy as far as the Titans are concerned, but if all goes to plan, he could be on a similar trajectory to breakout star Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.
Injury setback
When Dowell tore his ACL last December, it was a real setback to the plan the Titans had in place. It caused him to miss an entire offseason of development, a full training camp working against NFL cornerbacks, and an NFL regular season where he could be sharpening his game.
The Titans really could have used Dowell as a gunner on punt team with how things have looked for them on special teams.
Fortunately, there's now a chance that Dowell could return before the end of the 2024 regular season and play in a game as part of his "audition" for the 2025 squad. With any luck, Tennessee will have some more roster turnover this offseason. I'd anticipate wide receiver being a position they look to address once again. It can't be overstated how important it is to show the new coaching staff what you're capable of, even if it's in a ridiculously small sample size.
"He had done some really good things, especially as a gunner on special teams last year. A guy that people were excited about from everything I gathered when I got here. I see him all the time. I talk to him all the time. So, it'll be good to actually see him play football," said Titans head coach Brian Callahan.
Bryce Oliver is a good example of a young wide receiver who has made a case for himself to be on the 2025 roster during the 2024 season. He has stood out on special teams and shown flashes of capable receiver play. I'm hoping we can have a taste of that from Dowell, at the very least on special teams, before season's end.
First step – get back on the practice field and get into football shape. We should see Dowell begin that process on Wednesday.
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