Titans Offer Another Update on Injured LB

The Tennessee Titans are inching closer to having their rookie linebacker debut.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray (51) warms down after practice on the second day of training camp Thursday, July 25, 2024. / Denny Simmons/The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Tennessee Titans are excited to get rookie linebacker Cedric Gray back on the field soon, but it won't be happening for the team's Week 7 matchup against the Buffalo Bills.

According to team reporter Jim Wyatt, Gray won't be activated from injured reserve this weekend, leaving him off the 53-man roster and unavailable for the team's game against the Bills.

The Titans have until two weeks to place Gray on the 53-man roster, officially having him return from injured reserve. That would mark 21 days from when the team officially designated him from return on Oct. 7. This means that Gray can miss the team's next three games and the latest he can come back is Week 9 when the team takes on the New England Patriots at home.

If the Titans don't place Gray on the 53-man roster by then, he will have to stay on injured reserve for the rest of the year, unable to play for the team this season. However, he did practice in full late this week, which means that he is getting closer to coming back on the field.

Gray, a fourth-round pick by the Titans in April's draft, was dealing with a shoulder injury that caused some concern for his nerves, so the team wants to be extra cautious when it comes to his return.

Once Gray comes back, the Titans will have the chance to evaluate him and see if he can be one of the team's top linebackers of the future. The team currently employs Kenneth Murray Jr. and Ernest Jones IV at the position, but perhaps Gray could slide in and emerge as a future premier piece of the defense.

The Titans, without Gray, will face the Bills tomorrow at 12 noon CT.

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