Offensive Lineman Goes to Injured Reserve

Jamarco Jones was not healthy enough to play in the first two games. Tight end Kevin Rader is promoted to the active roster, and linebacker Wyatt Ray returns to the practice squad.

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans signed Jamarco Jones in free agency with the idea that he was a potential starter at one of two positions. Injuries since the start of training camp have created more of a stop-and-start dynamic for the veteran offensive lineman, however.

Now, the Titans have pressed pause with him.

Jones was placed on injured reserve Thursday, which means he must miss at least the next four games. In related moves, tight end Kevin Rader was signed to the active roster off the practice squad, and outside linebacker Wyatt Ray was added to the practice squad.

Jones was inactive for each of the first two games this season, losses to the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills. In Week 1, he was a limited participant throughout the practice week with a triceps injury. Last week, he missed two of the three practices with what was listed as an elbow injury.

In the preseason, Jones played seven snaps in the opener against Baltimore and then sat out the final two contests.

The fifth-year veteran signed a two-year, $4.8 million deal with the Titans early in free agency. It was the only multi-year deal franchise officials gave to a player from outside the organization and it ranked second to tight end Austin Hooper’s one-year, $6 million deal in terms of the money committed to a newcomer. (The big offseason transaction, of course, the was five-year, $87.5 million pact that kept outside linebacker Harold Landry out of free agency).

The 6-foot-4, 293-pound Jones was expected to compete for the openings at left guard and right tackle. In four years with Seattle (the Seahawks drafted him in the fifth round in 2018), he played – and started at – every position on the offensive line except center and logged one start each at left guard and right tackle.

Rader (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) has two career receptions in seven games played, all with Pittsburgh (2020-21). He was signed to the practice squad on Sept. 1, the same day Tennessee added veteran wide receiver Josh Gordon.

Ray spent time on the Titans’ practice squad during the 2020 season and appeared in four games, including his NFL debut, that year. He had one sack in 15 games for Cincinnati last season and two for his career.