The Tennessee Titans need all hands on deck to have a chance to take down the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. That is why the team's latest injury report is such a crushing blow.
The team revealed several absences, with wide receiver Carnell Tate being officially ruled out with a shoulder injury. Cam Ward loses his top target and the Titans offense, which has struggled mightily to score, is facing a tough task against a surging Bengals team.
Tate has not yet lived up to the hype of being the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft. However, he has done well given the lack of success from Ward in his role running the offense.
The rookie has 34 receptions for 413 yards and one touchdown through seven games. For context, Ward only has four total touchdown passes on the season.
The 34 connections make Tate his quarterback's top target and his absence will loom large Sunday in Cincinnati.
Yet with or without Tate, the Titans are massive underdogs in the game. ESPN shared DraftKings' odds listing the Bengals as 12.5-point favorites.
There is really no reason to have Tate on the field unless he is playing at or near 100%. The Titans are already 1-6 and the team has a bye week following the Bengals game. This extra rest should mean Tate is ready to return in Week 10 and look to form some sort of connection with Ward before the season ends. If they cannot do so, or even if they can, Tate may be catching passes from a new quarterback in 2027.
A 1-6 start is not what Robert Saleh and company had in mind at the start of the season. The team is fresh off back-to-back 3-14 seasons, and seems to be headed in that same direction once again.
Ward's second season is not going well and the coaching staff refuses to sit him and let him learn. Thus, they are hoping he can play through his issues and improve to at least make the Titans offense a competitive one.
Losing Tate for any amount of time makes even scoring touchdowns a tall task for this offense in 2026.
The Titans have the second-worst record in football right now, better than only the 0-6 Los Angeles Chargers . This puts both teams in a race to the bottom for the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. That would be an intriguing draft slot for both teams, as the Titans have Ward and the Chargers have Justin Herbert. Would either team take a quarterback?
For now, Ward is hoping to shock the entire NFL world on Sunday with a big performance without his top target on the field.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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