Defensive End Removed From COVID Reserve List

NASHVILLE – Defensive end Jack Crawford was removed from the COVID-19 reserve list and added to the Tennessee Titans’ active roster Thursday.

The veteran free agent is one of three Titans players who spent time sidelined by exposure to, or a positive diagnosis of the coronavirus. He was placed on the list Aug. 7 and had been prohibited from taking part in all team activities since that time.

His return to the active roster means he is now eligible to participate in meetings and practices with the rest of the team.

First-round draft pick Isaiah Wilson spent a brief period on the COVID-19 list at the start of training camp. Linebacker prospect Josh Smith remains on that list, where he has been since Aug. 10.

At 31 years old (he will turn 32 next month) Crawford is the senior member of the Titans’ defense. A fifth-round draft pick by the Raiders in 2012, he signed with Tennessee (one year, $1,1875 million) after three seasons with Atlanta. He also played two years for Oakland (now Las Vegas) and three with Dallas.

He has played all 16 games in four of the last five seasons and has appeared in 93 games (26 starts) for his career.

Of the 10 defensive linemen on the current roster, six have one year or fewer of experience. After Crawford and DaQuan Jones, the next most experienced member of that group is Matt Dickerson, a third-year veteran who has appeared in just eight games over his first two seasons.

That makes Crawford (6-foot-5, 274 pounds) a likely starter along with Jones and last year’s first-round pick, Jeffery Simmons.