NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans’ seemingly never-ending injury battle at cornerback continued Friday, when Greg Mabin went on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
Mabin will have to sit out at least the next three games – against the Rams, Saints and Texans – before he’s eligible to return.
The good news for the Titans at that spot was that Chris Jackson returned as a limited practice participant on Friday, after missing Wednesday and Thursday with a foot injury. Jackson wasn’t given any injury designation heading into Sunday’s contest, so the expectation is he’ll be able to play.
Signed to the Titans’ 53-man roster off Arizona’s practice squad on Oct. 20, Mabin made a quick impression. A few days later, he played all 72 snaps against Kansas City. He followed that up by playing 64 snaps last Sunday against Indianapolis. Mabin posted a combined eight tackles in the two contests.
Earlier this season, the Titans lost rookie cornerback Caleb Farley to a season-ending knee injury. In addition, second-year cornerback Kristian Fulton – a starter – will miss his fourth straight game this weekend due to a hamstring injury. Jackson missed two games this season, and only played 12 snaps in a third contest as well.
The three healthiest Titans cornerbacks are Jackrabbit Jenkins, a starter, along with rookie nickel back Elijah Molden and reserve Breon Borders. Borders has played in all eight games this season, but twice in the past four weeks did not log a single defensive snap.
It is possible the team the Titans could elevate cornerback Chris Jones from the practice squad. Jones played in one game earlier this season, getting 18 snaps against Kansas City.
Tennessee will face one of the NFL’s best passing attacks on Sunday night. Quarterback Matt Stafford has piled up nearly 2,500 passing yards in eight contests, throwing for 22 touchdowns and just four interceptions. His 118.0 quarterback rating is second in the league, trailing only Seattle’s Russell Wilson (125.3).
The Rams’ Cooper Kupp leads the NFL in receiving yards (924) and touchdowns (10), while teammate Robert Woods has added 38 catches for 458 yards and four touchdowns.
When the Titans placed Mabin on injured reserve and added running back Adrian Peterson to the 53-man roster, it meant that two spots still remained open on the roster. The Titans can also elevate two practice-squad players – by Saturday -- for Sunday’s contest.
It’s possible one of the roster spots might be filled by linebacker Jayon Brown, who has missed the last four games with a knee injury. Brown has been practicing for the last two weeks, and Titans coach Mike Vrabel said he’s progressing well.
“I would say hopefully we can start to consider getting Jayon back in there soon, real soon,” Vrabel said.
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