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Robert Saleh Shares Health Update on John Franklin-Myers
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- Robert Saleh Shares Health Update on John Franklin-Myers
(ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN)
If you've been paying attention to the Tennessee Titans injury reports recently, you've noticed that John Franklin-Myers has appeared on them quite a bit.
For the most part, the team has put Franklin-Myers on the injury report since he's been using his veteran rest. However, he's been dealing with a back injury for most of the season.
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Still, it hasn't kept him playing.
Franklin-Myers has played in all eight games for the Titans this season. His production isn't where you'd like it to be, but that could definitely be tied to his injury. He has 1.5 sacks, 16 total tackles and three TFLs so far.
On Monday, Robert Saleh shared how Franklin-Myers was doing. He called what Franklin-Myers is dealing with a "bad" injury. The head coach admires the fact that he's still able to play.
"As far as, you know, Keldric, he'll continue to work in and find his opportunities," Saleh said. "And I've told you guys with JFM, he's battling a very, very bad injury, and the fact that he's even showing up on Sundays to dress and put his best foot forward is appreciated."
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It's a little concerning that Franklin-Myers' injury was described that way by Saleh, but the head coach assured people that it's better for him to play. Saleh stated that a 75% Franklin-Myers is better than most.
Franklin-Myers has to be in an interesting spot right now. He was brought in to partner with Jeffery Simmons on the interior of the defensive line. The Titans have since traded Simmons to the Chicago Bears and left Franklin-Myers with Solomon Thomas at defensive tackle.
Thomas is a good player, but he's not at the level that Simmons is.
The good news with Franklin-Myers is that if something isn't working, he can be moved along the defensive line. Earlier this offseason he teased that Saleh likes to use defensive linemen at different positions to take advantage of mismatches.
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One thing we do know about Franklin-Myers is that he does not miss many games. Aside from his season-ending injury in 2019, he has only missed three games.
His ability to fight through injuries is one of the reasons he's able to do so.
The Titans will continue to need Franklin-Myers to do this. If he goes down, there's not much depth behind him on the defensive line. You have Nazir Stackhouse, Timmy Horne, Jonah Laulu and Jackie Marshall.
Stackhouse has been playing well, but Horne has five starts in his career. Laulu hasn't been a starter since his days with the Las Vegas Raiders and Marshall is an unproven rookie.
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The good news is that the Titans have a bye week, giving Franklin-Myers extra time to recover from his back issues. The Titans don't play again until Nov. 15, when they face the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium.
Hopefully, this will be enough time for Franklin-Myers to get some much-needed rest. The Titans need him out there on Sundays.
