Nate Washington, the Titans' biggest free agent acquisition of the offseason, will miss the rest of the preseason and could miss the early part of the season after injuring his hamstring at Monday's practice.If he misses the rest of the preseason, it's not that big of a deal -- it gives rookie first-round pick Kenny Britt more reps with Kerry Collins this week. But apparently Washington's injury could cause him to miss the season opener against the Steelers, which would be bad news for a team with only one other established veteran receiver.
If Washington isn't ready for the opener, Tennessee will have to turn to Lavelle Hawkins or Paul Williams. The two of them combined for eight catches last year. We do know one receiver who won't be replacing Washington. Chris Davis, the 2007 fourth-round pick who made the mistake of being arrested last week, was waived on Monday.
Jeff Fisher said that the Titans will consider bringing in another wide receiver to help out the receiver depth. Of course, if Marvin Harrison ends up signing with the Titans, Adam Schefter has the right to spike a football in Fisher's face.
But the biggest effect from Washington's injury is that the Titans will likely turn even more to its talented set of tight ends. Rookie Jared Cook has already run some routes as a receiver, so this gives him more of a chance to make an early impact. And Bo Scaife and Alge Crumpler will likely get to run a lot of two tight end sets that fit the Titans' run-first approach.
