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Titans Position Battle Affected by Injuries

The Tennessee Titans are dealing with a number of injuries to return specialists.

Jeremy Brener

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Mason Kinsey (12) runs the ball against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Mason Kinsey (12) runs the ball against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Tennessee Titans have been no stranger to the injury bug during training camp as several players have missed time banged up.

No position has seen more injuries than the wide receiver spot, especially those who are also competing for the return specialist jobs.

According to team reporter Jim Wyatt, the Titans are not expected to have Mason Kinsey (thumb) or Kyle Philips (hamstring) at full capacity this week.

In the Titans' depth chart for the game this week against the New Orleans Saints, Kinsey is listed as the team's starting punt returner while Philips is listed third with second-year pro Kearis Jackson in the middle. Jackson is also dealing with a knee injury of his own as he left the team's preseason game last week against the Seattle Seahawks. However, he isn't expected to miss much time.

Jackson had a 63-yard return on a kickoff in the team's preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers, giving the coaching staff an early reason to keep him on board.

All of these players double as wide receivers, and unfortunately for them, the position group is incredibly deep with DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd, Treylon Burks and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine all virtual locks to make the team. This means that all three of the others won't all make the team. A cut or two will have to be made somewhere.

On top of that, the team drafted Jha'Quan Jackson in the sixth round of this year's NFL Draft out of Tulane, and the Titans might be looking to keep him on the roster as well.

These injuries could not come at a worse time for the trio of roster hopefuls, but whichever one of them gets healthy the quickest and performs well on Sunday against the Saints could be the player most likely to snatch up that final receiver spot and make the team.

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Jeremy Brener

JEREMY BRENER

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