The Tennessee Titans have lost one of their most important members of the secondary for the beginning of the season, as the team announced on Monday that they had placed cornerback Adoree' Jackson on injured reserve. Jackson suffered a knee injury in practice on Friday, and it was already known that he would not be able to suit up for Monday night's matchup against the Denver Broncos. Apparently, this injury is serious enough that the Titans believe he will miss several weeks.
The new rules for injured reserve this season requires Jackson to miss at least three weeks before he's eligible to return. In a corresponding move, the Titans promoted cornerback Tye Smith to the active roster from the practice squad. He has played in 24 regular-season games for the Titans since 2017, and was originally a fifth-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2015.
Losing Jackson for the first three weeks of the season is a big loss, as he was one of the Titans' starting cornerbacks. In 2019, the former first-round pick recorded 45 combined tackles, six passes defensed and three tackles for loss in 11 games played. A foot injury forced him to miss the final four games of the regular season, but Jackson did return and played in all three playoff games for the Titans, recording nine combined tackles and five passes defensed as Tennessee was defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game.
The cornerback position was already seen as a weakness for the Titans, as they lost Logan Ryan in free agency. Either Johnathan Joseph or the rookie Kristian Fulton figure to start opposite of Malcolm Butler, as the Titans will look to shut down Drew Lock and the Broncos' passing attack on "Monday Night Football." Kickoff is scheduled for 10:20 pm ET.
