The Titans made a flurry of roster moves today after trimming their roster down to 53 players yesterday afternoon.
The first noteworthy move came in the form of safety Dane Cruikshank being placed on Injured Reserve. Take a deep breath because this doesn’t mean that Cruikshank’s season is over.
Under the NFL’s new Injured Reserve rules, a player can be recalled to the active roster after three games, which means Cruikshank would be eligible to return following Tennessee’s game against the Vikings on September 27.
Cruikshank is an excellent special teams player, but the Titans are well covered in this area. Players like Joshua Kalu, Nick Dzubnar, Will Compton, and rookie cornerback Chris Jackson should be able to fill out a good special teams unit in Cruikshank’s absence.
In terms of how Cruikshank’s injury impacts the defense, we should see plenty of Amani Hooker. That was probably going to be the case anyway.
In perhaps more notable news depending on how you look at it, Isaiah Wilson has once again found himself on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. This puts Wilson’s chances of being active for Week 1 at less than likely. There’s a chance Wilson was going to be inactive regardless, but this almost guarantees it.
Wilson began training camp on the team’s Reserve/COVID-19 list.
The reserve/COVID list is a list that is designated for players who test positive for COVID-19 or are quarantining due to coming in close contact with someone who tested positive. We do not know which category Wilson falls in, but obviously everyone will be hoping for the best for his health.
From a football standpoint, this means that Wilson will not be eligible to practice with the team or be in the facility until he is cleared medically to return. The NFL has not put a specific timeline on that return from the protocol, but I’m sure it involves multiple negative tests with some time in between.
It’s yet another setback for Wilson, who has had a bad couple of weeks. It’s safe to assume that veteran Dennis Kelly has a firm grip on the starting right tackle spot as things currently stand.
These two moves opened up a couple of spots on the active roster which the Titans were quick to fill.
They agreed to terms with running back Senorise Perry and cornerback Chris Milton. Both players went through training camp with the Titans and were released on Saturday.
The signing of Perry is somewhat notable because the team decided to bypass elevating Jeremy McNichols to the active roster instead. It signals that Perry had a strong finish to training camp, and was probably closer to making the initial 53-man roster than we previously thought.
I want to remain positive about Wilson, but this is a rough start for a rookie on a team with Super Bowl aspirations