Titans’ Hayes sprains MCL
The Tennessee Titans received some relieving news as starting defensive end William Hayes has only sprained his medial collateral ligament in his right knee. The team had feared it was a tear, which would have likely ended his season.
Hayes was helped off the field by trainers after getting hit on the outside of his knee. The team was hoping it was not what they feared, as rookie Derrick Morgan is recovering from an injury himself and another defensive end lost would have been bad news for the team.
“Happy it's not an ACL,” Hayes said. “I definitely thought it was probably going to be a little bit worse than it was, but it's not as bad as we thought. Everybody's happy around here. Just be out for a couple weeks and get back into it.”
Other injuries on the defensive line include Jacob Ford with a hip injury and Morgan with a calf injury.
Hayes played in all 16 games last year, racking up four sacks, five tackles for a loss and 82 tackles overall. Hayes had been working with the first-team defence throughout training camp as the team waits for Morgan to recover and earn a starting job.
The Titans open their preseason schedule this Saturday in Seattle to take on the Seahawks. Hayes looked on the bright side of things, saying him being out would give rookies a chance to step up.
"So preseason is good for the younger guys and for us to try to help with a couple little glitches in the game to help clear everything up a little bit. We'll be fine," Hayes said. "I'm going to come back out when I get cleared, practice hard and I'll be ready whenever it's time for me to go."
The Titans received more good news as third-round draft pick Damian Williams has started practicing again. Williams is expected to return punts for the Titans this season and hopes to be ready for the preseason opener. He was on the physically unable to perform list with a strained hamstring but he feels he should be ready to go: "At the same time, I know this is one of those injuries you've got to be really careful of ... I'll leave that to coach Fisher," Williams said.
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