The Titans have lost 28-year old safety Anthony Smith for the rest of the season due to a groin injury as he has been placed on the Injured Reserve List.  Smith played in 13 games for the Titans last year and he had 11 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  He has now played in 76 games in his NFL career and he has 176 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 7 interceptions and 18 passes defensed.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Titans.

The Titans are playing the Indianapolis Colts on the road this weekend in a “must win” game.  Matt Hasselbeck injured his calf last weekend and rookie Jake Locker played most of the game.  This is a perfect spot to give Jake Locker his first NFL start, as long as Hasselbeck isn’t healthy enough to go.  Locker has played in 4 games for the Titans so far this year and he has completed 23 of 50 passes (46%) for 434 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs (96.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 7 times for 47 yards (6.7 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Locker has a stronger arm and he’s a much better runner than Hasselbeck, but Hasselbeck still has the experience edge.  Hasselbeck has been solid this year.  The 36-year old QB has completed 246 of 403 passes (61%) for 2,701 yards with 15 TD passes and 10 INTs (82.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 13 times for 52 yards (4.0 ypc) so far this year.  No matter which QB lines up under center this weekend, they will have a good matchup against the Colts.

The Titans have decided to place 28-year old LB Barrett Ruud on the Injured Reserve List due to a groin injury.  Ruud played in 9 games for the Titans this year and he had 57 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 104 games in his first seven years in the NFL and he has 642 tackles, 20 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 23 passes defensed and 7 interceptions.  The Titans are going to let Ruud walk in free agency.

The Titans have lost 24-year old RB Javon Ringer for the rest of the year due to a fractured hand.  Ringer played in 12 games for the Titans this year and he carried the ball 59 times for 185 yards (3.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 28 passes for 187 yards (6.7 avg) this year.  Ringer has now played in 35 games in his first three years with the Titans and he has carried the ball 118 times for 472 yards (4.0 ypc) with 3 TD grabs.  He has also caught 35 passes for 231 yards (6.6 avg) so far in his career.  22-year old rookie RB Jamie Harper will replace Javon Ringer as Chris Johnson’s top backup in the Titans’ last three games.

The Titans have lost starting safety Chris Hope for the next 4-6 weeks due to a broken forearm.  He has played in 2 games for the Titans so far this year and he has 10 tackles.  29-year old Jordan Babineaux will take over Hope’s starting spot until he’s ready to return to action.  Babineaux has played pretty well so far this year for the Titans, so they think he will do a good job while Hope is out of action.  He has played in all 4 of the Titans’ games so far this year and he has 15 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception (he returned it 97 yards for a TD against the Browns), defensed 1 pass and he has 1 tackle for a loss.  The Titans are in good hands with Babineaux.

The Tennessee Titans have lost 23-year old WR Kenny Britt for the rest of the season due to a torn right ACL.  Britt played in all 3 games for the Titans this year and he caught 17 passes for 289 yards (17.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Veteran Nate Washington will become the Titans’ new #1 WR, but the Titans will need one of their younger receivers to step up and replace Britt in the starting lineup.  23-year old Damian Williams (2 rec, 24 yards), 25-year old Lavelle Hawkins (5 rec, 38 yards) and 24-year old Marc Mariani (3 rec, 13 yards) are the guys who will be competing for a starting job this week in practice.  This is a HUGE blow to the Titans’ passing game as Britt was the best WR on the team by far.

The Titans have lost 22-year old DE Derrick Morgan indefinitely as he has underwent surgery on his left ankle.  He played in 4 games for the Titans last year and he had 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1 pass defensed.  This is bad news for the Titans as they had high hopes for Morgan in 2011.  He was a first round pick of the Titans’ in 2010.

The Titans have lost 24-year old CB Ryan Mouton for the 2011 season as he has torn his right Achilles tendon in practice.  Mouton played in 9 games for the Titans last year and he had 11 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  Mouton has now played in 23 games in his first 2 years with the Titans and he has 35 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 1 tackle for a loss.  Mouton was likely going to get a shot to play more in 2011, but that’s out now.

The Titans have placed 29-year old DE Dave Ball and 24-year old CB Ryan Mouton on I.R. ending their seasons.  Ball has a concussion and Mouton a leg injury.  Ball played in 11 games for the Titans this year and he had 30 tackles, 7 sacks, 3 passes defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  Mouton played in 9 games for the Titans this year and he had 11 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  The Titans are going to miss Ball who was playing the best football of his career but they should be able to replace Mouton pretty easily.

The Titans have placed 30-year old DT Tony Brown on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a knee injury.  Brown played in 11 games for the Titans this year and he had 22 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 3.5 sacks.  He has now played in 69 games in his first five years with the Titans and he has 197 tackles, 12 passes defensed, 18 sacks and 4 forced fumbles.  The Titans will miss Brown as he is a good inside pass rusher.