The 0-4 Tennessee Titans have already been without several key starters throughout the first four weeks. The most discouraging absences have been that of their first two selections in the 2025 NFL Draft. JC Latham played half of Week 1, and T’Vondre Sweat is currently on IR after missing large portions of training camp with tonsillitis before injuring his ankle. Sweat peculiarly declared himself healthy before going on IR.
Injuries happen. The Titans are disappointed to not have Latham or Sweat available. What the Titans can control is how they respond, juggle the roster, and handle their return-to-play timelines.
There’s quite a bit of evidence to suggest Brian Callahan and his staff struggle with that. Latham exited Week 1 after re-aggravating a hip injury that was discarded as a nothing-burger in training camp. Sure, reaggravation happens. Latham wasn’t placed on IR. He’s already missed three contests and appears headed to miss a fourth this weekend.
That would mean the Titans should have placed Latham on IR and taken advantage of the extra roster spot. In fairness, Latham’s presence is so important to the offense, that any chance of him potentially returning to the lineup prior to the four-week minimum was worth keeping him active for. And the Titans had legitimate hope he’d be back soon.
But his example is one of several.
Rookie safety Kevin Winston Jr. has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury at training camp. It’s been further complicated by a partially torn ACL he suffered at Penn State last season. The Titans possibly overloaded his plate early in camp before he got injured. Winston Jr. wasn’t placed on the PUP or IR to begin the campaign, and he also appears headed for a fifth consecutive missed game on Sunday.
Rookie running back Kalel Mullings was first injured during the preseason. The Titans didn’t place him on IR until Friday, September 26th. Delaying the process of placing Mullings on IR will cause him to possibly miss more games than necessary.
And then there’s the 2024 L’Jarius Sneed example. Sneed injured his quad in a mid-October game with the Indianapolis Colts last season. He was placed on season-ending IR six weeks later. All parties involved described the quad injury as incredibly peculiar, but how many of these examples are supposed to be treated as rare coincidences?