NASHVILLE -- According to a report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Tennessee Titans right tackle Chris Hubbard is expected to miss the rest of the season with a bicep injury.
Hubbard was signed as a free agent in August and had been one of Tennessee’s only consistent offensive linemen this season. After starting nine games this season, he is now the second member of the offensive line to go down with a season-ending injury.
But one man's misfortune is often another man’s opportunity, and with Hubbard down, the door is open for Titans rookie Jaelyn Duncan to step up.
Duncan was selected by the Titans in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. After playing his college ball at the University of Maryland as a four-year starter at left tackle, Duncan was an athletically gifted draft prospect that needed a little polishing before playing at the next level.
Over the last handful of months, Duncan has been learning what it takes to succeed in the National Football League, taking to his coaching, and developing as a player. "I think I've made a lot of progress," said Duncan when I spoke to him in the locker room last week. "Going back, watching film from the beginning of time to now, I have improved. I had a lot of bad habits."
Duncan said that when he first arrived in Nashville, he had bad habits with throwing his hands in pass pro, his pad level, stopping the bull rush, and getting his hands down on long arms.
Leading up to last week's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Duncan had been working his way up the depth chart and earning more opportunities. The 2023 sixth-round pick had been practicing to be Tennessee's swing tackle and carved out a role for himself to get some occasional snaps on offense. When Hubbard went down in Jacksonville, Duncan then filled in at right tackle for the rest of the game and played 25 offensive snaps.
"I thought it was good to have Jaelyn (Duncan) get an opportunity," said Titans head coach Mike Vrabel on Monday. "He's been working hard, and we've been working through some different lineups up front. He had a role, an XL Jumbo role, which he put some time into and was excited to use that. And then got in there at tackle, and I would say from an execution standpoint or understanding an assignment standpoint was good."
Understanding the assignment and executing well is all the Titans can ask of Duncan right now. That's a lot better than what they've been getting on the offensive line this season. The rookie absolutely took advantage of his opportunities on Sunday and has now positioned himself to take Hubbard's spot for the rest of the season.
Duncan is expected to start at right tackle for Tennessee until further notice. With the team sitting at 3-7, it couldn't hurt to get some younger players experience in live games. Hopefully Duncan's upward trend continues and he can prove himself to a be a valuable piece to the organization moving forward.
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