Coaches Continue to Piece Together ILB Pairings

Zach Cunningham was designated for return to practice Wednesday, When he returns to action, he won't be playing alongside David Long right away.

NASHVILLE – For the better part of two seasons now, inside linebacker has been a mix-and-match proposition for the Tennessee Titans.

That won’t change now that Zach Cunningham has been designated for return to practice. Cunningham now can work with the team for up to three weeks while coaches and medical personnel evaluate his fitness with the idea that he will return to the active roster, which could happen as soon as this Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Also Wednesday, running back Jonathan Ward was signed to the practice squad. A third-year veteran who played 32 games for the Arizona Cardinals, including five this season, Ward (6-foot, 202 pounds) has nine career carries for 33 yards. He spent the previous week on the New York Jets’ practice squad.

Cunningham has been on injured reserve since Nov. 12 with an elbow injury and has missed the last five games. He also sat out three contests earlier in the season when he first sustained the injury.

“Zach has played a lot of football and has done some good things for us,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “We’ll try to get him back and see how he does as he pregresses through the week in practice.”

The move with Cunningham comes days after David Long was placed on injured reserve because of a hamstring issue. Cunningham and Long were expected to be the starters at inside linebacker this season, but thus far they have played together in just four of the 13 games.

And with Long out of action until at least the regular season finale at Jacksonville, Cunningham – once he returns – will pair with either Dylan Cole or Monty Rice to form a fifth different combination. The latest was the pairing of Cole and Rice in Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

That is still more stability than was the case at that position in 2021.

A rundown of the Tennessee Titans’ starting pairs at inside linebacker this season:

• David Long and Dylan Cole – Six times (4-2)

• David Long and Zach Cunningham – Four times (1-3)

• David Long and Monty Rice – Two times (2-0)

• Dylan Cole and Monty Rice – One time (0-1)

Cunningham and Long finished last season as the starting combo at inside linebacker when they were put together weeks after Cunningham was claimed off waivers from the Houston Texans. They played together for the final two games of the regular season as well as the playoff loss to Cincinnati.

Over the first 15 games of 2021, though, injuries and uneven play forced coaches to use six other combinations. Rashaan Evans and Jayon Brown started together in Week 1 and again just one more time – in mid-December. The most common pairing was Long and Evans (six games).

In five games this season (the injury sent him to the sideline early in two), Cunningham has made 23 tackles with one pass defensed and one quarterback pressure.