Titans activate WR A.J. Brown from IR for 'TNF' vs. 49ers

Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Titans activate WR A.J. Brown from IR for 'Thursday Night Football' vs. 49ers

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 12/23/21

The Tennessee Titans are expected to activate wide receiver A.J. Brown from injured reserve on Thursday in time for the team's "Thursday Night Football" matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

The #Titans are activating WR AJ Brown from Injured Reserve to play today vs. the #49ers, per @CameronWolfe and me. Brown went on IR with a chest injury, but had no setbacks in practice this week.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 23, 2021

The Titans designated Brown to return to practice on Monday, and he has been a full participant, according to ESPN. He hasn't taken the field since sustaining a chest injury on Nov. 21 in a 22-13 loss to the Houston Texans.

Brown leads the team with 46 receptions for 615 yards. His return is expected to be a boost for quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who hasn't fared as well without Brown as one of his targets.

Ryan Tannehill with AJ Brown:

* 232.7 YPG
* 7.0 YPA
* 64.4% completion rate

Tannehill without AJB:

* 183.5 YPG
* 4.8 YPA
* 58.4% completion rate
— Graham Barfield (@GrahamBarfield) December 23, 2021

That being said, Tannehill will also have to pick his game up on Thursday night if the Titans are going to match up against a 49ers team that has won five of its last six games.

Let's hope A.J. Brown gives us a WR1-type performance tonight even though Ryan Tannehill's passing efficiency hasn't been great with a 5.6 (No. 28) Adj. Y/A when Tannehill ranked 4th (8.2) and 1st (9.2) the past 2 years.

AYA for Tannehill & Brown 2019-2020 vs. 2021 pic.twitter.com/9wK4SVvHEh
— Corbin (@corbin_young21) December 23, 2021

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