Another on Way Back from IR

Outside linebacker Ola Adeniyi has been designated for return to practice ahead of Sunday's game with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports

NASHVILLE – Coach Mike Vrabel said Monday that two Tennessee Titans currently on injured reserve had a chance to return to practice.

One actually will.

Ola Adeniyi, a veteran linebacker/special teams performer, was designated for return to practice Wednesday. That decision started a three-week window in which he can practice with the team but not count against the 53-man active roster. It also means he could be back on the active roster and in the lineup as soon as Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Adeniyi has not played since Week 2 at Buffalo. A neck injury kept him out of action for three games before the decision was made on Oct. 17 to place him on injured reserve.

In his limited action, Adeniyi was credited with one tackle and two quarterback pressures on defense and no stops on special teams.

"The rules are very particular on what guys can do on a 'return to play' basis," Vrabel said Wednesday. "So, you need that 21-day window to be able to evaluate them in a setting of things they're going to be asked to do in the game.

"So, I think we've gotten (Adeniyi) as far as we can get him with the trainers and rehab people. And we'll put him out to practice."

Kyle Philips was the other player Vrabel mentioned as a possibility.

A fifth-round draft pick out of UCLA, he got off to a good start when he was the Titans’ leading receiver with six catches for 66 yards in the season-opener against the New York Giants. He also had a 46-yard punt return in that contest, and that return still ranks among the five longest in the NFL this season.

Philips has been on injured reserve since Oct. 25. And he will stay there at least one more week.

A hamstring injury, however, caused him to miss two of the next five games and limited him in several others. He caught just two passes for 12 yards and returned one punt, which he muffed, since Week 1.

NFL teams are allowed to bring back a maximum of eight players from injured reserve this season. To date, cornerback Elijah Molden and wide receiver Treylon Burks have made that move.