Titans LB Gets Big Opportunity vs. Bengals

The Tennessee Titans need some help from the linebacker position.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Luke Gifford (57) celebrates a stop on special teams against the New York Jets during their game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Titans have been ravaged by injuries all year long, especially at the linebacker position.

The Titans have already lost Jack Gibbens for the rest of the season and the team may not have Kenneth Murray or Otis Reese IV on Sunday for the team's Week 15 matchup. This opens the door for Luke Gifford to step up.

Gifford had 11 tackles in his first career start last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he will look to capitalize off of that against the Cincinnati Bengals tomorrow.

"It was awesome to get an opportunity," Gifford said via team reporter Jim Wyatt.

"The biggest thing for me was just the confidence the coaches had in me, and they had enough to give me the opportunity, so I really appreciated that. It was good to be out there."

Even though it has taken a while for Gifford to rise up to the top of the depth chart at the linebacker position, the Titans were still impressed with what he was able to do against the Jags.

"I thought Luke did a really nice job handling the green dot communication," Titans coach Brian Callahan said via Wyatt. "That was something that was very new for him and he hadn't done that in a while. To be able to communicate to the defense and then run the show as the MIKE linebacker was great."

Even though Gifford put up a strong performance against the Jaguars, he has a lot to work on and improve, and he's hoping to be able to do that against the Bengals.

"There's always things to clean up," Gifford said. "Underneath coverage and things like that could have been a little cleaner. And I think it is always about communication and being comfortable being out there with everybody. With the experience, that will come. So, hopefully we can carry that into this week."

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