Now What? Hamstring Injury Sidelines Tennessee Titans' Top Receiver

It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy—or at a worse time.

Coming off the third preseason game, a contest in which a feeble offensive performance condemned the Titans to a 30-10 loss at Dallas, one of the biggest reasons to be optimistic about an improved Tennessee passing attack came up lame during practice this week.

Wide receiver Nate Washington, who has been nothing short of dominant during training camp after being picked up as a free-agent from the Pittsburgh Steelers, pulled a hamstring while running a route during one-on-one drills.

Few in Tennessee’s camp would argue that without Washington—who showed a penchant for the big play while catching passes from Ben Roethlisberger—the Titans are roughly the same team that managed the NFL’s 27th-ranked passing game a season ago.

Head coach Jeff Fisher said the injury isn’t terribly severe, but no one wants to guess how long Washington could be out or whether he’ll be ready for the regular-season opener against his old team on Sept. 10.

“I’ll be very disappointed. It’s something that I’ve…worked hard for and to miss that game would be big for me,” Washington said this week.

“Any injury is going to be frustrating, especially in a new environment, a new system. And…things were going pretty good and to have this kind of setback, it’s definitely frustrating.”

After managing just one touchdown and just 51 yards in the air Saturday, Fisher said this week he wasn’t happy with the state of his offense, nor overly concerned.

Still, the loss of the Titans best pass target for an undetermined period of time is nothing short of unsettling.

“You don’t want anybody to go down but especially a guy you brought in here to be, basically, your number one receiver,” starting quarterback Kerry Collins said. “(No. 1 draft pick) Kenny Britt is going to get an opportunity to get a lot of reps now, which I think he’ll respond to them. I think he’s having a good camp.  

“A guy like Paul Williams and Lavelle Hawkins, they were draft picks here. They need to step in and show us that they can fill that role.”

Veteran Justin Gage, who ranks a close second in the wide receiver pecking order, will also feel the weight of more responsibility, starting with Saturday’s fourth preseason game at Cleveland.

“It’s a long season,” Gage said. “You know there’s going to be nicks and dings and guys are going to get injured, so you just have to be ready. The mentality is you have to know every receiver position, not just one, in case a guy goes down, you’re ready to move over and fill that void.”

But Washington, who’ll receive a ring for last year’s Superbowl victory, brings a unique level of big game experience.

“He’s seen just about everything you’re going to see in the NFL,” Gage said. “With just his experience alone, it’s going to be tough to find that.”  

Washington vowed to carry the veteran example he’s demonstrated on the field into the training room.

“This is not going to be a normal rehab,” Washington said. “This is not going to be a normal training. I’m not going to be getting normal training treatments. I’m going to go above and beyond to get back out there probably, hopefully, quicker than what they expect me to.”