Report: Titans WR Kyle Philips to miss six weeks

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kyle Philips suffered an injury in Saturday’s preseason victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Philips was eventually carted off the field after returning a punt in the first quarter. Paul Kuharsky is now reporting that Philips suffered an MCL injury in his knee, and will miss approximately six weeks.

That means Philips is likely to miss Tennessee’s regular-season opener against the New Orleans Saints. The former UCLA standout suffered the injury just days after Ian Rapoport reported that Treylon Burks suffered an LCL sprain during joint practices with the Vikings. The Titans may be without both Burks and Philips versus the Saints. That would put DeAndre Hopkins and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on the boundary with Chris Moore in the slot.

Philips is beginning to earn the injury prone label. Philips played a big role in the Titans’ season opener last year but suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for multiple weeks. He played in three of the next four contests before eventually suffering a hamstring injury in practice that ended his campaign.

The Titans have to keep Philips on their initial 53-man roster. He’s ineligible to be placed on PUP, and placing him on IR would end his 2023 campaign. If Philips misses 5-6 weeks, the likelier outcome sees Tennessee keeping him on the finalized 53 and then placing him on IR, which would make the former fifth-round selection eligible to return after a four week absence.