A.J. Brown added to Titans injury report ahead of Monday night

The 3-2 Tennessee Titans will look to pull off a statement win on Monday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills, but the Titans added an unlikely name to its injury list prior to kickoff: wide receiver A.J. Brown.

Brown has been dealing with hamstring issues for much of the 2021 season, but his landing on the injury report had nothing to do with his hamstring. Instead, Brown was listed as questionable for the Monday-night tilt due to an undisclosed illness. Because he was not placed on the COVID-19 reserve list, it seems that Brown does not have COVID-19; the severity of his illness, however, remains unclear.

Brown was previously nursing a week-to-week injury, a hamstring ailment the severity of which seemed low. He was forced to miss the majority of the Titans’ win two weeks over the Indianapolis Colts dealing with the hamstring injury, but he quickly returned the following week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last week, against the Jaguars, Brown reeled in three of his six targets for 38 receiving yards.

After the Jaguars game, reports said that Brown was on a pitch count during that game, and that the Titans plan to keep him on that count for the foreseeable future. Brown said previously that he’s just “not there yet” as he works to recover from his hamstring ailment.

“I want to be out there every snap. I know I’m not there yet, that’ll come by like Week 10, I’ll play the whole game,” Brown said. “Because they won’t allow me, they won’t allow me yet. But whenever I’m in there I’ve got to do what I got to do, not try to just preserve energy. I’ve got to make plays when I’m in there, I’ve got to be effective.”

Brown is one of quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s favorite targets through five weeks of the regular season. He ranks third among all Titans wide receivers with 10 receptions — despite missing a game — and his 25 targets paces the entire team. He’s tallied 130 passing yards so far this season, good for an average of 13 yards per reception, along with one touchdown catch.

Brown is a product of Ole Miss, where he was twice named to the All-SEC first team. Drafted by the Titans in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Brown broke out in 2020 and was named to the Pro Bowl after turning in 70 receptions, 1,075 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 14 games played.