Another Injured Player Making Way Back to Defense

Defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. has missed the last four games with a groin injury. Can become the latest player to return to the defense from injured reserve.

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans – like every other NFL team – can remove a limited number of players from injured reserve and return them to the active roster this season.

It seems certain now that the Titans will use the majority of those moves to help restock the defense.

Defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. was designated for return to practice Thursday. Johnson has been on injured reserve since Nov. 17 with a hamstring injury and has missed the last four games, the minimum required by league rules.

He becomes the second member of the defense to return to practice this week. He follows inside linebacker Zach Cunningham, who got back to work Wednesday.

Both players now can be returned to the active roster anytime within the next three weeks. If that doesn’t happen within the 21-day window, they will remain on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

To date, the Titans have returned five injured players to the active roster. Defensive backs Elijah Molden and Josh Thompson, outside linenacker Ola Adeniyi and wide receivers Treylon Burks and Racey McMath all made their way back from injured reserve.

The maximum who can make that move is eight. Assuming Cunningham and Johnson return to the active roster within the coming days or weeks, five of the first seven returnees will be on the defense.

The downside is that Molden returned to injured reserve after four weeks (two games played) and Adeniyi was released two weeks later (one game played). Getting Cunningham and Johnson back, therefore, would result in a net gain of just three players for that unit.

“Where we’re at right now, everything is week to week with us, based on who we have available,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. “We’re kind of at that point in the season right now.”

Johnson was claimed off waivers during training camp and appeared in eight of the first nine games before he was injured. He played primarily at safety with a limited number of snaps at cornerback. He was credited with three tackles.

His return would help a secondary in which only two players, safety Kevin Byard and cornerback Roger McCreary, have stared every game.