A.J. Brown Now Questionable for Monday

The Tennessee Titans wide receiver had no issue with his hamstring injury during the practice week but now is battling an illness.

George Walker IV / Tennessean.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans might not have their full complement of wide receivers for Monday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, after all.

A.J. Brown was downgraded to questionable Sunday. The issue for the third-year wide receiver is an illness.

Brown was listed on the injury report with a hamstring ailment but was a full participant in practice throughout the week.

“It gives me a lot of confidence,” he said Friday. “I had a really good week. I’m just trying to stack day on day. … I want to be out there every snap. I know I’m not there yet. That will come. … Whenever I’m in there, I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do and not try to preserve energy.”

The expectation as of Saturday afternoon was that Brown and Julio Jones would be Tennessee’s starting wide receivers for the first time since Week 3 against Indianapolis. Brown was knocked out of that game early, and Jones watched the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury of his own. Both sat out the Week 4 loss to the New York Jets, and Jones missed last week’s victory over Jacksonville as well.

Jones said on Friday that he was healthy and ready to play this week.

“Julio coming back this week, it gives us an advantage because you’ve got to respect him,” Brown said. “But … we’ve got to make plays. That’s what it comes down to.”

That, of course, will be much more difficult if one of them does not play.

Brown has just 10 receptions on 25 targets through the first five weeks of the season. He ranks fifth on the team in receptions and is fourth with 130 receiving yards. He has not caught a touchdown pass since the opener and his current streak of three straight games without a score matches the longest of his career.

Jones has a team-high 204 receiving yards on 12 catches. He has yet to score a touchdown for Tennessee.