Knee Issue Lands Clowney on Injured Reserve

Outside linebacker's quest for his first sack for Tennessee will wait at least three more weeks.

NASHVILLE – Jadeveon Clowney missed one game recently because of a knee injury.

Now, he is going to sidelined for at least several more.

The Tennessee Titans placed the outside linebacker on injured reserve Saturday due to a knee issue that has plagued him over the last few weeks. A day earlier, Clowney was ruled out for Sunday’s contest at Baltimore.

Under rules in place for the 2020 NFL season, a player on injured reserve must miss a minimum of three games. As a result, the soonest Clowney, who injured the knee during an Oct. 25 loss to Pittsburgh, can return to the lineup is Dec. 13 when Tennessee plays at Jacksonville.

Without him, the Titans (6-3) will rely heavily on Harold Landry, who currently leads the defenses with two and a half sacks. The only other outside linebacker currently on the active roster is Derick Roberson, an undrafted free agent in 2019 who has had injury issues of his own and has played just three of the first nine games.

Inside linebacker Rashaan Evans also will assume a more prominent role in the pass rush.

The practice squad includes two at that position, Wyatt Ray and Tuzar Skipper. Ray made his NFL debut Nov. 8 against the Chicago Bears, the first game Clowney missed because of the injury.

Skipper was designated as a practice squad addition to the active roster for Sunday at Baltimore. He appeared in six games last season for the New York Giants as an undrafted rookie. Tennessee signed him to the practice squad on Sept. 15, fewer than two weeks after the Pittsburgh Steelers released him.

“(Skipper) has brought great energy,” coach Mike Vrabel said recently. “He’s conscientious. We see him getting better at executing in the meetings. He goes out, he’s been on the scout team for us a little bit. He's giving us great looks and he seems to be a great teammate. I see him talking to guys. I see him trying to help guys. He's learning our stuff, and again we'll have decisions to make as we move forward.”

They won’t have to wrestle with what to do with Clowney for the next few weeks.

A high-profile free agent acquisition at the end of training camp, Clowney is third among Titans players with nine quarterback pressures but has not recorded a sack. He is 10th on the team with 19 tackles but tied for third with three tackles for loss. He also has been credited with four passes defensed. He tied his season-high with four tackles in the last game, Nov. 12 against Indianapolis.

Coaches, however, have taken advantage of the attention Clowney attracts from opposing offenses and have lined him up at numerous spots in an attempt to disrupt blocking schemes.

“He's made some disruptive plays in every game that he's been in,” general manager Jon Robinson said recently. “We can we move him around. Coach Vrabel does a good job of trying to put him in position to be successful and get back there and there's been plays that he has disrupted. … He (has been) working to get back to making those plays and getting those, either a turnover or a sack or whatever it may be.”

Now, he just needs to get healthy.