NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans have a deep pool of defensive linemen, with 2016 second-rounder Austin Johnson and 2015 fourth-rounder Angelo Blackson serving as role players.
They each bump up a notch with Karl Klug lost for the final two regular-season games and any postseason games for the Titans due to a torn Achilles.
Klug will be missed, but if the Titans were going to lose someone at this stage, the defensive line should be a spot where they are equipped to recover.
Three starters -- DaQuan Jones, Al Woods and Jurrell Casey -- remain in place, with Blackson and Johnson now the primary depth. Undrafted rookie Mehdi Abdesmad was promoted from the practice squad last week and played 16 snaps in his first game.
Klug very much fits the Titans' mold.
“A guy that's where he's supposed to be on all downs, just a tough, physical, dependable player, team-first, a guy we really like,” Mike Mularkey said.
Klug suffered an Achilles injury while filling in for Casey as a starter Dec. 11 against Denver, but recovered well enough to play in Kansas City.
“He had a really good Friday practice, he was full-go,” Mularkey said. “I don't know if he would have let me not let him play. I mean, he wanted to play. It's disappointing. It happened, but I don't think we put him back there too early. I saw him Friday do a lot of things.”
Per ESPN Stats and Info, Klug played 222 snaps at right tackle and 132 at right end.
The Titans have shuffled their low-ranking defensive linemen based on practice week performances.
Johnson has been inactive for six games this year and Blackson has been out for two of the last three. He was inactive behind Abdesmad against the Chiefs.
