The Titans’ quarterback situation for Sunday’s matchup against the Patriots is murky, but whoever is behind center will have the benefit of the team’s top receiver.
Calvin Ridley (shoulder) has no injury designation and is set to play in Week 9.
Ridley missed Wednesday and Friday’s practices, but was a full participant on Thursday. Last week, he caught 10 passes for 143 yards in the loss to Detroit. In seven games this year, Ridley has 22 receptions for 326 yards with one touchdown.
As head coach Brian Callahan mentioned earlier on Friday, Will Levis (right shoulder) is questionable. He was limited in practice all week.
If Levis cannot play, Mason Rudolph is in line to start once again.
Running back Tyjae Spears (hamstring), offensive lineman Andrew Rupcich (triceps), and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (quad) are all out.
Running back Tony Pollard (foot), receiver Tyler Boyd (shoulder), safety Amani Hooker (groin), offensive lineman Dillon Radunz (foot), defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat (hip), and cornerback Tre Avery (hamstring) are all questionable.
Titans head coach Brian Callahan didn’t make any announcement about who will be starting at quarterback this weekend when he spoke to reporters on Friday.
Callahan said that Will Levis had a good week of practice as he tries to return from a right shoulder injury and that he will be listed as questionable to play against the Patriots. With Levis’s status still up in the air, Callahan also said that he would not name a starter at this point.
Mason Rudolph started the last two games for the Titans. He was 47-of-78 for 481 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions in losses to the Lions and Bills.
While it remains to be seen if Levis will play, the Titans know they won’t have cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. He’ll miss his third straight game with a quad injury.
Friday’s practice will be more of the same for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
Maye suffered a concussion in last Sunday’s win over the Jets and was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday as he works through the protocoal. Head coach Jerod Mayo said at a press conference before Friday’s practice that there’s no change in the quarterback’s status.
“He is still in the protocol and going through that process,” Mayo said. “He’ll be limited. He has been limited this week so far. He’ll be limited today as well.”
Mayo said that Maye could still be cleared in time to play against the Titans on Sunday, but word on that will come at some point after Friday’s practice. Jacoby Brissett will start if Maye is not cleared to return.
Titans head coach Brian Callahan said that the team will make a decision on the status of quarterback Will Levis after the practice week and the first two days have played out the same way for the signal caller.
Levis was a limited participant in practice on Thursday, which makes it six straight limited practices dating back to Week Seven. Levis did not play that week and he also sat out last Sunday’s blowout loss to the Lions, so it would appear to be status quo in terms of the plans for this Sunday against the Patriots.
Friday will bring another update on where things stand thanks to another Callahan press conference and the team’s injury designations for Sunday.
Wide receiver Calvin Ridley (shoulder) went from out of practice to full participation, but running back Tyjae Spears (hamstring) and cornerback Tre Avery (hamstring) were both out after practicing on Wednesday. Wide receiver Tyler Boyd (shoulder), safety Amani Hooker (groin), running back Tony Pollard (foot), guard Dillon Radunz (foot), offensive lineman Andrew Rupcich (triceps), cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (quad), and defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat (hip) remained out of practice.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye hasn’t cleared the concussion protocol yet, but it seems like there’s a good chance he’ll get the green light to play against the Titans this weekend.
Maye suffered a concussion in last Sunday’s victory over the Jets, but he progressed enough to practice with the team on a limited basis on Wednesday. Maye remained a limited participant on Thursday and Friday will bring another practice as well as any injury designations that the team chooses to apply.
Jacoby Brissett replaced Maye last week and will start if Maye does not clear the final steps of the protocol by Sunday.
Maye had plenty of company in the limited category. Cornerback Alex Austin (ankle), safety Kyle Dugger (ankle), defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale (abdomen), linebacker christian Elliss (abdomen), running back Antonio Gibson (toe), cornerback Jonathan Jones (shoulder), guard Michael Jordan (ankle), tackle Vederian Lowe (ankle, shoulder), guard Layden Robinson (ankle), defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy (neck), linebacker Sione Takitaki (knee), linebacker Jahlani Tavai (back), wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (ankle), and defensive end Keion White (knee) were also limited on Thursday.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the nine semifinalists for the contributor category for the Class of 2025.
K.S. “Bud” Adams, Ralph Hay, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Art Modell, Art Rooney Jr., Seymour Siwoff, Doug Williams and John Wooten advance to the next round of voting.
Members of the contributor blue-ribbon committee made their selections from a field of 25 in their most recent reduction vote. The committee will discuss the semifinalists at length when it meets virtually Nov. 12 to select one Finalist for the full selection committee to consider for possible election with the new class of enshrinees.
Kilroy, Kraft, Rooney and Wooten reached this point in the selection process last year when coaches and contributors were in the same category. The Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors voted earlier this year to separate the groups and send one finalist from each through to the annual selection meeting to determine the new class.
Reduction votes also are occurring in the modern-era players, seniors and coach categories. Eventually, 20 finalists will be presented at the selection committee’s annual meeting next year in advance of Super Bowl LIX.
The selectors will vote on 15 modern-era players, three seniors, one coach and one contributor.
While the Hall has no set number for any class of enshrinees, the Hall of Fame’s selection process bylaws stipulate that between four and eight new members will be selected.
There’s a chance Titans quarterback Will Levis could be back to play the Patriots this weekend.
Head coach Brian Callahan said in his Wednesday press conference that Levis will do some work on Wednesday at practice, with an eye toward seeing how he responds for the rest of the week.
Levis has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury.
“We’re going to try to get a feel for where he’s at with some rest, see how he feels throwing the ball, see how it looks,” Callahan said. “The more important part for Will right now will be not just today, but Thursday, Friday worth of days consecutively throwing — see how that goes. He feels good after the rest and some time off of throwing. So, we’ll see what it looks like as the week goes along.
“We’ll make sure that if he’s feeling good and up to it, then we’ll ramp it up and see where he’s at. We’ll test all the throws, make sure he can make them all, make sure he’s confident in it, and if he does, then we’ll move forward. But we’ll see how the week goes along.”
In five games this season, Levis has completed 66.4 percent of his throws for 699 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s also rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries.
Mason Rudolph has started the last two games and would be in line to start again against New England if Levis can’t play.
The Titans will issue their first injury report of the week later in the day.
As the Patriots begin their practice week, rookie quarterback Drake Maye will be on the field after being placed in concussion protocol on Sunday.
Head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters in his Wednesday press conference that Maye will be limited in the day’s session.
"[H]e will throw the ball at times in practice today. But he will be limited,” Mayo said. “There are people a lot smarter than me, as far as cleaning people with concussions, and we’ll lean on our medical professionals and also the NFL league policy as far as getting him ready to play.
“I do have confidence that if the league says he’s ready to play, that he will be able to go out there and operate. In saying that, I feel very comfortable putting Jacoby [Brissett] in there, as he is a professional and always stays ready — as you could see from the last game. So, however that plays out, we’ll see.”
Mayo added that having a veteran like Brissett “kind of puts us at ease” from the quarterback standpoint.
Maye exited Sunday’s 25-22 victory over the Jets in the second quarter, having rushed for 46 yards — including a 17-yard touchdown — and completed 3-of-6 passes for 23 yards. Brissett finished 15-of-24 for 132 yards, and hit a two-point conversion following Rhamondre Stevenson’s go-ahead, 1-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
In his four appearances with three starts, Maye has completed 63.1 percent of his throws for 564 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Brissett has completed 59.1 percent of his passes this season for 828 yards with two touchdowns and one pick.
The Patriots injury report over the next few days will be telling when it comes to Maye’s availability for the Week 9 matchup with the Titans.
Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux made an honest assessment of where Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is physically now.
After New England’s 25-22 victory on Sunday, Godchaux said of Rodgers, “Hall of Fame quarterback. Hate to see him go out that way. . . . He definitely don’t look the same. . . . Shit, I could run him down and catch him. He don’t look mobile at all.”
Rodgers hadn’t heard Godchaux’s comments, but he didn’t argue.
“He’s probably right,” Rodgers said Tuesday, via Rich Cimini of ESPN. “Yeah, I was hurting, but I feel better today.”
Rodgers tore his Achilles on the fourth play last season, but he said that injury hasn’t been an issue this season. He has missed practice time with hamstring, knee and ankle injuries this season.
He is on the practice report this week with the knee and hamstring injuries but was estimated as a full participant Tuesday.
Rodgers said he is taking care of himself “non-stop” and feeling better this week.
“I expect to be able to do a lot more this week,” Rodgers said. “I’ll be under center and, hopefully, back to my faster-than-Godchaux speed.”
Rodgers has 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and his passer rating of 85.1 ranks 20th in the NFL and below two rookies.
“Yeah, not as good as I would’ve hoped,” he said of his season. “I’ve got to play better. I just have to be more efficient, not turn the ball over too many times. Interceptions can be misleading at times, but I’ve definitely had my share of poor throws.”
The Patriots filled the roster spot that opened up when they traded edge rusher Josh Uche to the Chiefs on Monday.
The team announced that they signed linebacker Ochaun Mathis to the 53-man roster. Mathis was on the team’s practice squad.
Mathis signed with the Patriots in August after being let go by the Rams. Mathis was a 2023 sixth-round pick by Los Angeles and he made two tackles in eight appearances during his rookie season. He’s been elevated three times this season and he made one tackle.
With Mathis moving up, the Patriots signed wide receiver Braylon Sanders to the practice sqaud.
