Friday Injury Report: A Question at Kicker Again

If Randy Bullock misses Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, rookie Caleb Shudak is likely to make his NFL debut.

NASHVILLE – Once again, the Tennessee Titans have a question at kicker.

The answer for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals could be a new one, though.

Kicker Randy Bullock was one of five players the Titans listed as questionable for that contest on Friday’s official NFL injury report.

The only Tennessee player ruled out is defensive lineman/linebacker Denico Autry, which was no surprise. Vrabel said a week earlier, the day after the Titans defeated the Green Bay Packers in a Thursday night contest, that Autry would miss some time with a knee injury.

Bullock and Autry were the only Titans who did not practice on Wednesday or Friday. The team started preparations this week on Tuesday (no injury report was released that day) so that players could be off on Thanksgiving.

“It’s tough because the earlier you know, the better it is for all of us – for the team, for Coach [Mike] Vrabel, for all of us,” special teams coach Craig Aukerman said Wednesday about the uncertainty at kicker. “… If we have to wait until later, that makes it tough.”

A decision on Bullock likely will come Saturday, which would allow franchise officials time to make the necessary roster move to address Bullock’s absence.

Bullock was injured on Nov. 13 during pregame warmups for the contest over the Denver Broncos. He made it through that one, but veteran free agent Josh Lambo was signed last week and kicked in the game at Green Bay.

This week, Lambo was released, and Caleb Shudak was designated for return to practice after having spent all of training camp and the regular season on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

Shudak took part in workouts all week. If he is needed, the undrafted rookie out of Iowa could be added to the active roster or added to the practice squad and designated a gameday elevation to the roster.

“(Bullock) wants to get out there,” Aukerman said. “He keeps on saying that he needs to be out there to help this team, which is what we want. But we’re going to do what’s obviously best for Randy and what’s best for the team.”

The complete Titans-Bengals injury report for Friday:

TENNESSEE

Did not practice: OLB Denico Autry (knee) and K Randy Bullock (right calf). Limited practice: CB Kristian Fulton (hamstring), RB Hassan Haskins (hip) and DL Jeffery Simmons (ankle). Full participation: OLB Bud Dupree (hip), RB Derrick Henry (not injury related), S Amani Hooker (shoulder), C Ben Jones (concussion), DB Elijah Molden (groin) and QB Ryan Tannehill (ankle).

Sunday status – Out: Autry. Questionable: Bullock, Haskins, Fulton, Jones and Simmons.

CINCINNATI

Did not practice: RB Joe Mixon (concussion). Limited participation: LB Joe Bachie (knee) and WR Ja’Marr Chase (hip). Full participation: T La’el Collins (not injury related), RB Chris Evans (knee), DE Trey Hendrickson (illness), S Dax Hill (shoulder), DT DJ Reader (ankle), DT Jay Tufele (illness) and DT Josh Tupou.

Sunday status – Out: Mixon. Questionable: Bachie, Chase, Hill and Tupou.