Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Titans WR Injury Woes Continue

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Lane Mills | Last updated Oct 17, 2025 7:00 AM ET

In what has been maybe the most eventful week for the Tennessee Titans franchise since the firing of Mike Vrabel two years ago — of course, now his replacement has been fired as well — much of the team’s usual weekly noise has ducked out of the limelight in favor of head coach Brian Callahan’s dismissal his position.

While the head coaching search is (quietly) officially on, with senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy stepping into the role in the meantime, Tennessee’s roster continues to operate below full-health ahead of the team’s home-date with the 4-2 New England Patriots this weekend.

Among oodles of injury news that continues to haunt the team, the one that stands out consistently is that of veteran wide receiver Calvin Ridley.

Ridley, meant to be the Titans’ leading wideout operating on a four year, $92 million contract, missed practice on Thursday with an ongoing hamstring issue that saw him exit early in last week’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Despite technically seeing the field for most of the 2025 season to this point, Ridley has consistently missed practice and popped up in stints on the injury report. To boot, his hampered health may be impacting the WR’s statistical output, too.

While he does lead the team in yardage on the year so far with 290, Ridley still hasn’t managed to catch a touchdown yet. With only 16 receptions through six games, even given his injury against the Raiders, it’s safe to say that the seasoned receiver has played below his means.

Even so, having your primary option on the field, even if he’s struggling, is preferable to not having him at all. While complimentary receivers Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson were both seen in varying fashions on the practice field, Ridley’s absence bodes poorly for Tennessee as they scramble to put the pieces back together under an entirely new interim coach.

It doesn’t help that the aforementioned Patriots, led by the Titans’ former HC Mike Vrabel, are entering Nissan Stadium on a two-game win streak sitting atop the AFC East.

It’ll be stability and precision versus rock, salt and nails this weekend in Tennessee. If the Titans are to win, by some miracle, they’ll have to rely on rookie talent on the offensive end to do so. QB Cam Ward and WR Elic Ayomanor, both in their first year, seem to be the only hopeful connection ahead of a dire matchup.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Titans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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