Hamstring likely to need surgery; Titans to try out kickers Thursday
Tennessee kicker Joe Nedney will miss the season for the second year in a row after tearing his left hamstring, forcing the Titans to place him on injured reserve.
Coach Jeff Fisher said Nedney’s injury is significant enough that it likely will have to be surgically repaired, and the Titans were busy trying to bring in kickers for tryouts.
“We’re looking around right now. There are some guys out there that are available. We’ll be bringing in people (Wednesday) evening for a potential workout (Thursday),” Fisher said.
Those could include veteran Gary Anderson, who filled in for Nedney last season, and other available kickers like Brett Conway, Bill Grammatica, Matt Bryant or rookie Todd France.
Fisher said the Titans aren’t too concerned if they don’t sign a replacement before Saturday’s season opener at Miami because they have Pro Bowl punter Craig Hentrich, who is 7-of-12 on field goals in his career.
“We know what Craig can do. Craig can handle all the duties if we need to do so,” Fisher said.
Nedney was hurt Tuesday while kicking a ball as it fell off a tee during a special teams session. He was face down on the ground before being helped by trainers.
He walked off the field on his own, and had an MRI exam Tuesday night. Fisher said the team had to review test results Wednesday morning before making a decision.
The Titans first listed Nedney as out for Saturday’s game. But they went ahead and placed him on injured reserve in time for Doug Johnson, newly signed as their No. 3 quarterback, to practice Wednesday afternoon.
The latest injury comes a year to the day that Nedney tore his ACL in his right, non-kicking leg. He injured that leg in the first half of the Titans’ 2003 season opener.
That forced Hentrich into emergency duty, and he kicked four of five field goals in a victory over Oakland.
Tennessee tried out Conway and Neil Rackers before choosing experience in signing the NFL’s career scoring leader as Nedney’s replacement for the season. Anderson was 27-of-31 on field goals, including a 46-yarder for a 20-17 victory over Baltimore in an AFC wild-card game in January.
Hentrich left the locker room after practice Wednesday before reporters were allowed in.
The news that Nedney was out for the season took some Titans by surprise. Receiver Drew Bennett, the backup holder who would help if Hentrich has to kick any extra points or field goals, said he didn’t realize the injury was that bad.
“Poor guy, (I) hope he has a fast recovery,” Bennett said.