The Tennessee Titans already had enough to sort out on offense. Now they’ve got a fresh mess at right guard heading into Sunday’s Week 4 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Fernando Carmona and Jackson Slater were both placed on injured reserve, which means each will miss at least four games. That leaves Tennessee scrambling again at a spot that had finally offered a little stability before the wheels came off.
Carmona’s loss stings the most. The fifth-round rookie had been one of the few bright spots in the Titans’ early-season offensive struggles, and he was playing well at right guard.
Slater, who stepped in for him, then hurt his foot against the New York Giants in Week 3. Both players had surgery.
That means the Titans are headed into Sunday with Plan C at right guard, and that’s a brutal development for an offense already searching for answers. Robert Saleh and Brian Daboll have to work through the options during the week of practice.
Realistically, Tennessee is down to two paths. Atonio Mafi, a journeyman NFL guard, is already on the 53-man roster after being claimed off waivers earlier this season. The other option is Garrett Dellinger, who was promoted from the practice squad back to the 53 after Carmona and Slater were moved to IR.
Dellinger is the more natural fit. He was the surprise holdover on the initial 53-man roster before being released to make room for a wave of waiver claims, then quickly returned to the practice squad. The Titans clearly liked what they saw from him throughout training camp and the preseason, and he didn’t allow a single pressure or sack in three exhibition games, according to Pro Football Focus.
There’s also rookie center Pat Coogan in the mix, and he has played guard before - at Notre Dame, before moving to center full-time at Indiana. Still, it would be a surprise if Tennessee chose to disrupt his development at center.
Dellinger looks like the simplest answer. He beat out veteran Cordell Volson for a spot on the initial roster, and he already knows Daboll and position coach Carmen Bricillo better than Mafi does after spending the whole offseason in Tennessee.
No matter who gets the nod, the assignment is rough. Baltimore’s interior front features two strong defenders in Nnamdi Madubuike and Travis Jones, which only raises the degree of difficulty for a Titans offense that didn’t need another obstacle.
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