One Specialist Clears COVID Protocols, Will Play at Houston
The Tennessee Titans will turn to just one backup for their kicking game in Sunday’s regular-season finale at Houston.
Punter Brett Kern was returned to the active roster Saturday and will play against the Texans. The three-time Pro Bowler was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list earlier in the week for an exposure to the virus. In subsequent days, he cleared all of the necessary protocols to return to action.
The Titans (10-5) won’t have kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who remains on the COVID-19 reserve list. He was removed from the active roster a day before Kern and remains separated from the team.
Rookie Sam Sloman, a seventh-round pick by the L.A. Rams in the 2020 draft, will replace Gostkowski. Sloman has been on Tennessee’s practice squad since Dec. 1, and on Saturday he was one of two practice squad players designated as gameday additions to the active roster.
“We’ve been working with Sam for the past [several] weeks doing what he’s normally doing – kicking, field goals, kickoffs, all those different types of things,” special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman said. “So, each week we’ve been working with him two-three times a week just to continue to work on his technique and let him know that, obviously, he could be called up at any time.
Sloman kicked for the Rams in the first seven games of the season. He made eight of 11 field goals (72.7 percent) and his longest was from 42 yards. He also made 18 of 21 extra points. Only 59.5 percent of his kickoffs (22 of 37) resulted in touchbacks.
Los Angeles drafted him out of Miami (Ohio), where he made 49 of 62 field goals and his success rate improved each season, with a peak of 86.7 (26 of 30) in 2019.
“He’s done a real, real good job here just understanding what could happen,” Aukerman said. “He’s worked really hard. He’s got an opportunity now, and hopefully he can seize the day with it and do really well for us.”
