Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon confirmed what we all feared regarding the status of rookie linebacker Cedric Gray on Wednesday. The 2024 fourth-round pick was placed on the injured reserve (IR) and will miss at least the first four games of the regular season.
"(I) had the conversation with Cedric this morning," Carthon said via Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. "He's one of those guys that you have to protect him from himself, because he wants to prove that he wants to be on this team, and he has earned the right to be on this team. With the nature of his injury, we just have to protect him from himself and give him an even longer period to get back healthy for us."
Gray was limited in his participation in training camp. The 21-year-old has been dealing with a nerve-related issue in his shoulder, which played a factor in why the Titans kept a surplus of linebackers on the initial 53-man roster as part of Tuesday's cutdown deadline.
Paired with Chance Campbell's season-ending ACL injury, Tennessee moved swiftly to acquire Ernest Jones from the Los Angeles Rams to bolster the middle of the defense.
Jones will be paired with Kenneth Murray, who was signed in free agency and named a team captain on Wednesday, providing the Titans with a strong pair of inside linebackers. The move also allows Gray to recover on his own timeline.
Gray came highly regarded after a standout season at North Carolina. As a senior, he amassed 121 tackles, including 11 for loss, five sacks, four pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and one interception.
When he is healthy enough to return, Gray will look to carve out a role in a depth capacity and work into a rotational role.
