The Tennessee Titans were hampered by the injury bug in their Week 3 loss to the New York Giants. Starting right guard Fernando Carmona quickly exited the defeat with an ankle injury. It’s since been reported by Jordan Schultz that Carmona will be sidelined on a week-to-week basis.
At least it’s not a season-ending injury for Carmona. The rookie right guard has been an early-season revelation. He was replaced by Jackson Slater, who performed serviceably.
The issue? Head coach Robert Saleh revealed
Slater suffered a “significant” foot injury, but played through it. The working expectation is Slater will be sidelined even longer than Carmona will. The Titans placed them both on IR earlier this week.
So who do the Titans start at RG in Week 3 versus the Baltimore Ravens? OC Brian Daboll and OL Coach Carmen Bricillo have a few options to sort through. The straightforward option would be Atonio Mafi.
Mafi was added to the Titans’ 53-man roster just recently as a waivers claim. The fifth-round pick from UCLA in the 2023 NFL Draft has started just seven career games. He’s been below-average when afforded opportunities to play.
We’re not convinced Mafi will be the Titans’ choice. Garrett Dellinger was recently promoted to the active roster from the practice squad. Remember that Dellinger was the biggest surprise inclusion on the initial 53-man roster. He spent the entire offseason in this offense, and certainly knows the playbook better than Mafi does.
Dellinger actually played really well throughout the preseason. The former LSU product didn’t allow single a pressure or sack and scored PFF grades of 74.8, 72.3, and 80.3 in pass protection. His overall run-blocking grade was 81.9.
Is rookie Pat Coogan an alternative? He’s obviously far more comfortable at center than guard.
The Titans will probably start Dellinger or Mafi versus the Ravens. Would they consider reuniting with Kevin Zeitler? We’re excited to analyze whichever decision is made.
