TITANS’ INJURY WOES WORSEN VS. CHARGERS
Seven players have been declared out for Sunday’s game
Tennessee’s injury issues continue to worsen with Titans being declared out, including a trio of defensive starters, for Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Rookie wide receiver Treylon Burks did not practice all week and will miss his second straight game because of the concussion sustained Dec. 4 at Philadelphia. Burks suffered the injury on a touchdown catch when Eagles defender Marcus Epps hit him in the face mask.
Defensively, the Titans (7-6) will be short-handed in the secondary with starting cornerback Kristian Fulton (groin) out for the second straight game.
Starting safety Amani Hooker, who has filled in at cornerback in passing situations, did not practice on Thursday or Friday with a knee injury. He also was declared out, and rookie cornerback Tre Avery remains in the concussion protocol.
The Titans had hoped defensive lineman Denico Autry, who leads the team with seven sacks, would return from the knee injury that has kept him out the past three games. He was limited Wednesday and Thursday, but did not practice Friday and also is out.
Other offensive players who also will sit out the game include running back Dontrell Hilliard, who was carted off the field in last week’s loss to Jacksonville with a neck injury, and wide receiver C.J. Board (rib).
The Titans still have a day to possibly activate starting inside linebacker Zach Cunningham and safety Lonnie Johnson off injured reserve. Both started their 21-day return window this week. They’ve used 80 players, including 25 different defensive starters, this season.
Coach Mike Vrabel said there is a chance offensive lineman Dillon Radunz, who has started four games at guard this season, could play after not getting into the Jacksonville loss. Radunz was the 53rd overall pick out of North Dakota State in the 2021 draft.
“We will keep working with Dillon,” Vrabel said. “He did some good stuff. He’s played a couple of different positions for us. We will try to expand where he is at. We will see kind of where things lead on Sunday and there is a pretty good chance that he’ll probably play multiple positions.”
The Titans have given up 10 sacks combined over the past two games — both losses — after allowing only 25 sacks over the first 11 games this season.