One Player Not Easily Replaced
NASHVILLE – Assuming the Tennessee Titans get back to work – and games – this week, they will have some significant holes to fill in their roster.
Among the players who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week are Adam Humphries, one of their leading wide receivers, and two-thirds of their starting defensive line, Jeffery Simmons and DaQuan Jones. All are currently on the COVID-19 reserve list.
Like any other team, the Titans will preach “next man up,” which is to say coaches will look to those down on the depth chart to play more significant roles until the starters get back to health.
But what if there is no one else on the depth chart?
That is the case at long snapper. Beau Brinkley, one of the first players to test positive in the current outbreak, is the only one listed at that spot on the team’s depth chart, and coach Mike Vrabel indicated that there is no one else on the roster to fill that role.
“We'll find some options here quickly,” Vrabel said last week. “That's what [general manager] Jon [Robinson] and his staff is working on, trying to find a few guys to come in … getting them here and working them out, and then going with one of those guys.”
Of course, Tennessee’s facility has been closed since last Tuesday, and that slowed the search for a fill-in. The personnel department has been unable to conduct any tryouts or identify a possible replacement.
And long snapper is a specialized role that does not typically feature a great deal of turnover, which means there is not an abundance of out-of-work long snappers at any given moment.
Brinkley has been the Titans’ long snapper since the start of 2012 and has filled that role for 136 consecutive contests (playoffs included). That means he has delivered the ball to the appropriate person – typically punter Brett Kern – on every punt, field goal and PAT for more than eight consecutive seasons.
Before him, Ken Amato had the job for nine. He did miss parts of two seasons with injuries.
Under the policy agreed upon by the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association, if a player contracts COVID-19 and displays symptoms, that player must stay away from the team for a minimum of 10 days. If a player remains asymptomatic, there is chance he could return sooner.
No positive tests among the Titans were returned Tuesday. That ended a run of six days with at least one and has prompted optimism that the facility can reopen – and the team can get back to work – this week. Whenever that happens, Tennessee will operate under a restrictive set of “post exposure” rules set forth by the NFL last week.
Since Brinkley was among the first three to test positive, there is a chance he could be back to work late this week and will be available for Sunday’s game at Buffalo, if it is played as scheduled.
If not?
“It'll be a new long snapper and that's something that we'll have to deal with,” Vrabel said.
