Tennessee Titans News & Rumors

Titans To Place Derrick Henry On IR

Titans running back Derrick Henry will undergo foot surgery on Tuesday morning, head coach Mike Vrabel announced (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). Vrabel didn’t specify a timeline for his recovery, but NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter) hears that he’ll be out for somewhere between 6-10 weeks. 

Although that’s bad news for the Titans, it’s a better outcome than what was expected just a few hours ago. Henry was feared to have suffered a more serious metatarsal fracture, one that surely would have left him in a boot for the rest of 2021. Now, the Titans could have Henry back as soon as Week 15. Or, if he needs additional time to recover, there’s still a chance that he could suit up for the postseason.

Up until last night’s injury, Henry was on pace for another stellar season. He currently leads the league with 937 rushing yards — 300+ yards more than Browns RB Nick Chubb. Had he stayed healthy, Henry could have potentially matched last year’s eye-popping total of 2,027 yards. At minimum, he probably would have captured his third consecutive NFL rushing title.

Without Henry, the Titans are set to deploy Jeremy McNichols as their RB1 with support from Khari Blasingame and Dontrell Hilliard at RB. However, they’ll also audition a few free agents this week, including Adrian Peterson (Twitter link via Rapoport). Peterson might not be the player he once was, but he still managed 604 yards and seven TDs via ground with the Lions last year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/1/21

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Titans’ Derrick Henry Done For Year?

Derrick Henry suffered a potentially season-ending foot injury last night (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). He’ll know more after an MRI today, but the early word isn’t promising for the Titans running back. 

[RELATED: Titans Place Darrynton Evans On IR]

Doctors fear that Henry is dealing with a Jones fracture, which would require season-ending surgery (Twitter link via Schefter). Henry suffered the injury towards the end of the second half, but somehow managed to play through the pain in overtime. A Jones fracture would not allow for any further heroics in 2021.

Henry currently leads the NFL with ten rushing touchdowns and 937 rushing yards, far ahead of Browns RB Nick Chubb (584). He finished Sunday night with 28 carries for 68 yards, with some of those totes coming after the injury.

If Henry misses time, the Titans will be left with Jeremy McNichols, Khari Blasingame, and Dontrell Hilliard at RB. Of course, none of those tailbacks can replace Henry, who tallied 2,027 rushing yards last year en route to his second straight rushing title.

The Titans advanced to 6-2 after edging the Colts last night. They’ll likely be without their star running back in Week 9 when they face the Rams.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/21

Here is the Week 8 Saturday minor move blitz:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets 

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Titans Place Darrynton Evans On IR

Titans running back Darrynton Evans is headed to the injured reserve list again, per a club announcement. This time, he won’t be able to return. 

Evans spent the first six weeks of the season on the IR list before returning to face the Chiefs on Sunday. Unfortunately, he re-aggravated his knee injury after just two carries and two catches. Injuries have plagued the 23-year-old throughout his pro career.

The Titans had high hopes for the third-rounder in 2020, but he was limited to just five games as a rookie. Now, he’ll head into 2022 with little pro experience and an uphill battle to make the final cut.

Derrick Henry and Jeremy McNichols stand as the Titans’ only healthy running backs. They’ll almost certainly add a third before Sunday’s matchup against the Colts. One of their two practice squad RBs — Dontrell Hilliard or Mekhi Sargent — could get promoted to the practice squad. Or, the Titans could circle back to D’Onta Foreman, who auditioned for Mike Vrabel & Co. on Wednesday.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/27/21

Today’s practice squad moves:

Denver Broncos

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Titans, Washington Audition D’Onta Foreman

D’Onta Foreman has made multiple trips for workouts this week. The former third-round pick is auditioning to return to the Titans on Wednesday, Sports Talk 790’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

This comes a day after Foreman logged a Washington workout. The ex-Texas Longhorn has not been able to establish himself as a consistent pro, but he has remained a presence on the workout circuit and saw time with the Titans last season.

Serving as one of Derrick Henry‘s backups in 2020, Foreman rushed for 95 yards on 22 carries in his six-game Tennessee run. In the two seasons prior to that, Foreman played just one game. For his career, Foreman has just 107 carries.

This marks the second time in two months Foreman worked out with Washington, which also auditioned Kerryon Johnson on Tuesday. Antonio Gibson is playing through a shin injury — one ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter categorized as a hairline fracture. Gibson has played through that and a shin-area bruise this season and has yet to miss a game.

Tennessee activated 2020 third-round pick Darrynton Evans ahead of its Week 7 game, but the Appalachian State product has battled injuries as a pro. Evans has played in just six games since being a Day 2 pick. The 49ers released Johnson from their practice squad earlier this month.

Titans Designate LB Jayon Brown For Return

Following a big week for the Titans’ AFC standing, they are set to have a key defender back in uniform soon. Tennessee designated Jayon Brown to return from IR on Wednesday.

This starts Brown’s 21-day clock to come off IR. The Titans parked the fifth-year linebacker on their injury list because of a hamstring injury. The team also designated outside linebacker Derick Roberson and center Aaron Brewer to come off IR.

The Titans retained Brown this offseason, re-signing him on a one-year deal worth $5.25MM. The veteran second-level starter faces a key stretch run, having spent time on IR in each of the past two seasons. Brown’s 2020 season ended after 10 games. This and the pandemic-altered salary cap affected Brown’s free agency, putting some pressure on him to make an impact ahead of a 2022 free agency bid.

Tennessee has shown some improvement on defense this season and is coming off one of its best defensive outings in recent memory, having held the Chiefs without a touchdown. A 34-game starter since the 2018 season, Brown made 105 tackles in 2019 and profiles as a key helper for the Titans’ chances of repeating as AFC South champions. Tennessee faces its lone threat to doing so Sunday, in matching up with the Colts for the second time this season.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/26/21

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/23/21

Here is the run of Week 7 Saturday minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Promoted: LB Darius Harris, LB Christian Rozeboom
  • Placed on IR: TE Jody Fortson

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team