Titans thin at linebacker

The Titans practiced with just four linebackers from the 53-man roster on Monday – Patrick Bailey, Zach Brown, Moise Fokou and Colin McCarthy.

Titans coach Mike Munchak said Akeem Ayers (ankle) is expected to return to practice on Wednesday, but rookie Zaviar Gooden (foot) will likely be out for another week.

So the Titans will go into this week’s season opener with five linebackers, and three of them – Ayers, Brown and McCarthy – sat out large chunks of the preseason due to injury. Just for comparison’s sake, the Titans went into the 2012 season opener with seven healthy linebackers and used six.

“It has been (a concern) because all those guys have been nicked up,” Munchak said. “But we’ve got six guys we believe in … Five will be healthy and ready to go.”

As expected, Fokou will start at middle linebacker over McCarthy, who hadn’t played in a game since November of last year before suiting up for last Thursday’s preseason finale.

Could McCarthy earn back his starting role in time?

“If Moise plays like we think he can, you’d hope not,” Munchak said of changing starters. “But there’s no crystal ball and anything can happen. We want both to play well and see what happens.

“But for now, Moise’s played well. He took advantage of the situation he was given. Now we just have to see how we play as a unit. If guys don’t play well, then you start looking at different combinations.”

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Posted In: Team News

Source: Titans Insider