Will Tennessee Titans LB James Williams play vs. Philadelphia Eagles?

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Will Tennessee Titans LB James Williams play vs. Philadelphia Eagles?

Mark Mihalko, Titans Wire · Titans Wire

Sun, Sep 20, 2026 ·

3 min read

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The Tennessee Titans will host the Philadelphia Eagles at Nissan Stadium on Sunday afternoon in Nashville, looking to bounce back after falling flat in the season opener against the New York Jets .

The Titans received good news on Saturday when linebacker Cedric Gray passed off his testing and was removed from the NFL's concussion protocol and, in turn, the injury report. This is a huge boost for the Titans, who missed his sideline-to-sideline athleticism in Week 1.

Tennessee will enter the game surprisingly healthy, with only linebacker James Williams (elbow) and cornerback Cor'Dale Flott (quad) on the injury report. While both players are questionable, head coach Robert Saleh discussed Flott on Friday and said he was held out as a precaution after some morning stiffness.

Williams is a different story; he was limited all week during practice with an elbow injury and wore the yellow non-contact jersey, leaving his availability a true unknown.

Special teams experience is valuable

Williams is coming off a strong preseason and training camp and is a valuable rotational piece for Saleh's defense; he may also be a better fit than Cody Barton on the outside. He also has experience in John Fassel's special teams units. With Tennessee needing a spark from every phase, Williams could be an asset.

Will Williams play against the Eagles?

With Tennessee failing to elevate another linebacker from the practice squad for this matchup, it seems likely Williams will go. That may not be the case, though, since practice squad linebacker Mohammoud Diabate broke his wrist against the Jets and was ruled out. This limits the options available.

Now that Cedric Gray has cleared concussion protocol and is ready to return to the starting lineup, Williams will mostly be used on special teams and should be able to compete.

Who would replace Jones in the lineup?

In Week 1, Williams only played 28 snaps (42 percent) on defense as the third linebacker, while logging 23 snaps (93 percent) on special teams. With Gray returning to the lineup, his role on defense would likely be split with Cody Barton if both are available, which limits the impact if he can't go.

On special teams, it's hard to tell who would take his spot, but Tennessee did claim former Arizona Cardinals special teamer Owen Pappoe , who was inactive during Week 1.

What about Flott?

Unless something catastrophic happened that the team hasn't disclosed since Friday, it's hard to believe Flott will not be in the lineup against the Eagles. Head coach Robert Saleh went into detail about Flott's situation on Friday and gave no indication that he would be out this week.

Tennessee used a standard elevation for Erick Hallett for a second week in a row, but in Week 1, all his snaps came on special teams (23), and with Williams a question mark, that could be his ticket again this week.