Titans Rule Out Rookie WR Carnell Tate vs. Bengals With Shoulder Injury
Tate missed practice all week and will sit Sunday in Cincinnati, along with RB Tyjae Spears and P Tommy Townsend
Titans rookie receiver Carnell Tate won't play Sunday against the Bengals. Tennessee ruled him out with a shoulder injury after he missed practice all week, along with running back Tyjae Spears (knee) and punter Tommy Townsend (knee).
Tate didn't practice Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Coach Robert Saleh said Friday the team would work him out before deciding, and the Titans downgraded him from doubtful to out by the afternoon.
Ruled OUT for @Titans: Carnell Tate Tyjae Spears Tommy Townsend.View on X →
Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports): Ruled OUT for @Titans: Carnell Tate Tyjae Spears Tommy Townsend.
Losing him takes away one of Cam Ward's most reliable targets. Tate has 34 catches for 413 yards and a touchdown in seven games, and his best day came in Week 4 at Baltimore, with nine catches for 145 yards. He had five catches for 69 yards in last week's 27-24 loss to the Browns, a game that included a lost fumble and a key 18-yard catch that set up a late touchdown. The Titans will lean more on Wan'Dale Robinson and Elic Ayomanor.
Spears' absence thins the backfield behind Tony Pollard, and Townsend will miss another game after the Titans signed Thomas Morstead to the practice squad this week.
It's been a rough week in Tennessee. The 1-6 Titans traded defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Bears for two first-round picks this week, and now head to Cincinnati to face a 4-2 Bengals team at 1 p.m. ET Sunday without their rookie receiver.