Things Get Worse for Adoreé Jackson

Two days after he was ruled out for Monday's opener at Denver, the fourth-year cornerback was placed on injured reserve.

Adoreé Jackson will miss more than just Monday’s season-opener at Denver.

The Tennessee Titans placed the fourth-year cornerback on injured reserve Monday, hours before kickoff with the Broncos. Jackson was a full participant in Thursday’s workout but was added to the injury report Friday with a knee issue. On Saturday, he was ruled out for the game with Denver.

Veteran cornerback Tye Smith was added to the active roster from the practice squad to fill Jackson's spot.

This season, per a change in rules to help teams navigate the season amid COVID-19 issues, players on injured reserve will miss a minimum of three games.

Another new rule for 2020 is the ability of teams to add two members of the practice squad to their active roster on gamedays. running back Jeremy McNichols and undrafted rookie wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine were designated Monday as those players for Denver. They will revert to the practice squad on Tuesday.

Jackson, a first-round pick in 2017 (18th overall), played every game of his first two seasons but missed five contests in 2019, including the final four of the regular season due to a foot injury. He has been a starter for 39 of his 43 career NFL appearances and has been credited with 176 tackles (156 of them solo stops), two interceptions, 41 passes defensed and three forced fumbles.

With him out of action, free agent cornerback Johnathan Joseph and rookies Kristian Fulton (second round) and Chris Jackson (seventh round) will have larger roles than expected.

During the offseason, the Titans picked up the fifth-year option on his contract, which keeps him on the roster through 2021. The team also allowed veteran cornerbacks Logan Ryan and LeShaun Sims to leave via free agency, which ensured Jackson would be a more significant part of the defense this season – provided he is on the field, of course.

“I feel like I’m just trying to help when needed, and where I can,” Jackson said last week, before he was injured. “That’s with anything in life, in general. Whatever I can do to help, I’m going to try to do.”