The Tennessee Titans suffered a painful 27-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in Nissan Stadium without some key players in the starting lineup.
Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson was one of those.
Jackson returned to practice last week, but didn’t take the field Sunday. The corner is on the ‘Designated to Return’ list, but isn’t off Injured Reserve just yet.
It’s still not for certain that he’ll be back in time for this week’s upcoming road matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, but head coach Mike Vrabel explained why Jackson didn’t suit up in Week 7.
“I think he just wasn’t (ready),” Vrabel told reporters on Monday, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “Hopefully the extra week will give him an advantage to be able to be with us. We’ll see how that goes throughout the week, and what it looks like when we practice on Wednesday.”
Another key player the Titans are without is starting left tackle Taylor Lewan, who was placed on Injured Reserve after suffering a torn ACL in Week 6.
In his place, Ty Sambrailo was moved into the starting lineup and did a solid job. Vrabel was pleased with Sambrailo’s performance, as the Titans gave up just two sacks to the Steelers’ elite pass-rush on Sunday.
“I appreciate what he did, and how he played,” Vrabel said. “He has played throughout the course of the year at different times, which probably got him ready for that. If we get that type of play from Ty going forward, that would be a huge positive.”
The Titans will look to rebound after their first loss of the season when they face the Bengals at noon CT on Sunday in Paul Brown Stadium.
