Two Signed to Active Roster From Practice Squad
NASHVILLE – David Quessenberry and Daren Bates will spend more than just one day on the active roster this time.
Quessenberry, a tackle, and Bates, a linebacker/special teams stalwart, were signed to the active roster Tuesday off the practice squad.
Both were added to the active roster for Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh and eventually were included on the 48-man gameday roster. Each was used exclusively on special teams. Bates got 23 snaps with the kicking, punting and return units and was credited with one special teams tackle. Quessenberry got five snaps with the kicking units.
The two immediately were returned to the practice squad on Monday, per league rules in place this season to help teams deal with issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, they will be a part of the 53-man roster as the Titans prepare for Sunday’s game at Cincinnati.
Bates (pictured) has played 49 games for Tennessee over the past three-plus seasons, including three this season. He was a special teams captain in 2018. A free agent for most of this offseason, he spent time with Houston in training camp, and the Titans brought him back as a member of the practice squad on Sept. 13, two weeks after the Texans released him.
Quessenberry has played eight games, including two this season, in an NFL career that began in 2013, when he was a sixth-round draft pick by Houston. He missed three full seasons (2014-16) after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He made his NFL debut for Houston late in 2017.
Quessenberry has split time between the Titans’ active roster and practice squad since the start of the 2018 season.
“He loves football,” coach Mike Vrabel said last week. “He's a great teammate. I've never seen anybody happier for their teammates when they have success, watching them on the sidelines. He was a player that when he was on the practice squad last year, we wanted to try to bring him with us just for his knowledge and support. It was unbelievable how into the game he is, and then he has the versatility and a toughness battling with those things that he's been through in his past like a lot of people. But I think those are some really good qualities.”
