Titans sticking with Brown for now

NASHVILLE (AP) — For now, the Tennessee Titans are putting their trust in running back Chris Brown.

The Titans (1-2) lost Travis Henry on Monday to a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, and coach Jeff Fisher said that freed up some money for Tennessee to possibly add a running back to the roster to fill that void.

But they hadn’t made a roster move through Wednesday, and Fisher said Brown is ready to handle the work Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts (3-0).

“He believes that if he can get on a roll and get moving, then we are going to keep feeding him the ball. That was our approach going into the game last week. This is really no different than last year,” Fisher said.

Pending a late move, rookie Damien Nash, a fifth-round pick out of Missouri, will back up Brown. Fisher also said fullback Troy Fleming is another option and that promoting Jarrett Payton, the son of the late Walter Payton, off the practice squad remains a possibility.

The reason the Titans swapped a third-round pick to Buffalo for Henry in July before training camp was because they wanted an insurance policy for Brown. A third-round pick out of Colorado in 2003, Brown missed five games because of injuries as a rookie and five more in 2004 with turf toe.

Brown may be at his healthiest yet despite a concussion on his first reception against Baltimore on Sept. 18 that sidelined him for the second half. Through three games, he had 39 carries for 179 yards with Henry getting 31 rushes for 97 yards.

“He is issue-free I guess you could call it right now,” Fisher said.

“He feels good and he is looking forward to the challenge this week with this defense. You have to hit the hole exceptionally fast and quick to get creases because things close up very quickly. He knows it is a challenge as does our offensive line.”

Brown is ready to show the Titans he can handle the work.

“I’m just going to go out there knowing my teammates are depending on me to get the job done. I’ve got to go out and get it done, no letting down,” Brown said.

The timing could be good. Brown has rushed for at least 100 yards twice against the Colts and had his career best with 152 yards rushing in a 31-17 loss to Indianapolis here last season. Brown has averaged 5.7 yards per carry on 49 rushes for 279 yards.

Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney said the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Brown runs very hard and is very deceptive with his speed.

“I understand that we have to really wrap up and tackle this guy. He’s not one of those guys that is going to fall on the first touch,” Freeney said.

Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy knows Brown’s success against his Colts very well and hopes they can tackle better.

“That could be bad news for us. Hopefully, we can get him where he is not just getting out to the secondary free and easy,” Dungy said.