PLAYER NOTES
–QB Marcus Mariota was limited on Wednesday. He said he still has numbness and weakness in his throwing hand. That injury caused him to miss last week’s game, and he will split reps with backup Blaine Gabbert this week in practice.
–LT Taylor Lewan did some limited work as he works to be cleared from the league’s concussion protocol.
–RT Jack Conklin, still recovering from ACL surgery on his left knee in January, was limited but did a little more work on Wednesday. The Titans are hopeful that he may be close to returning.
–S Kendrick Lewis, who has been out a month with a foot injury, returned to the practice field for some limited work Wednesday.
–T Dennis Kelly, typically the top fill-in on the offensive line, has been sidelined since last week with a virus. He even spent a couple of days in the hospital and still has not been cleared to return to practice.
–WR Nick Williams was re-signed by the Titans to their 53-man roster. He was let go in roster cuts, mainly due to a hamstring issue.
–RB David Fluellen missed practice on Wednesday with a groin injury sustained in Sunday’s game against Houston.
–CB Kenneth Durden, dropped from the 53-man roster on Saturday to make room for tackle Tyler Marz, was added back to the roster on Tuesday.
GAME PLAN: Offensively, the Titans don’t know if they’ll have quarterback Marcus Mariota, and they don’t know how effective or close to 100 percent he will be with the nerve issue in his throwing arm. That could mean another week of Blaine Gabbert, a former Jaguar, at quarterback. Last week, the Titans had some trickery on a fake punt and the Wildcat formation with running back Derrick Henry. It may not be as easy to use those tricks again this week. It means that the ground game needs to carry the Titans, even if Mariota plays at less than 100 percent.
Defensively, the Titans have had good success in the past making the Jaguars put the game in inconsistent quarterback Blake Bortles’ hands. But Bortles is coming off one of his best games in a long time, shredding the New England Patriots, no less. Still, the Titans would rather take their chances with Bortles than to allow the Jaguars to control the game with their rushing attack.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Titans WR Corey Davis vs. Jaguars CB Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey is regarded right now as arguably the best cornerback in the NFL. The Titans hope Davis can become a No. 1-type receiver. Winning some battles against Ramsey on Sunday would go a long way toward establishing Davis as that type of player.
–Titans LB Brian Orakpo or Harold Landry vs Jaguars LT Josh Wells. The Jaguars lost Cam Robinson due to an injury, and going against a backup tackle should be inviting for the veteran Orakpo and his young understudy Landry, who looked good in getting pressure on Houston QB Deshaun Watson a couple times last week.
