JEREMY MCNICHOLS NEWS

Cowboys, Rams, Bucs among teams already facing key injuries

Cowboys, Rams and Packers are among the NFL teams to suffer key training camp injuries. Dr. Matt Provencher breaks them down.

AUGUST 12, 2022

Steelers star TJ Watt knows 'we've got to win a Super Bowl'

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T

AUGUST 3, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Placed on IR Pittsburgh placed McNichols (shoulder) on injured reserve Wednesday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Impact McNichols signed with the Steelers to compete for a depth role in the backfield, but he lasted less than a week into camp before suffering what was apparently a severe shoulder injury. The Steelers signed Master Teague in a corresponding move to restore numbers in the backfield heading into the preseason.

AUGUST 3, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Bangs up shoulder McNichols is being evaluated for a shoulder injury, Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Impact Another update on the injury will likely surface once its severity is determined. McNichols is battling for a depth role in Pittsburgh's backfield after suiting up for 30 games with the Titans over the previous two seasons.

AUGUST 1, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Welcome back: Steelers return to familiar rhythms of Latrobe

The Pittsburgh Steelers have returned to Saint Vincent College for training camp for the first time since 2019

JULY 26, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Joins Pittsburgh backfield McNichols has signed with the Steelers.

Impact The 2017 fifth-rounder gives the Steelers added running back depth following the team's release of Trey Edmunds. McNichols is coming off a 2021 campaign with the Titans in which he carried 41 times for 156 yards over 14 games while adding 28 catches on 38 targets for 240 yards and a TD. With Pittsburgh, McNichols will compete with Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland for snaps and touches behind the team's undisputed top back, Najee Harris.

JULY 26, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Jeremy McNichols on his role with the Falcons Running back Jeremy McNichols, who played for Falcons coach Arthur Smith in Tennessee, looks ahead to his possible role with this year's tea...

JUNE 9, 2022 • AJC.COM

Falcons QB Mariota willing to be mentor but hungry to start

Marcus Mariota already has shown he's willing to serve as a mentor for Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder

MAY 26, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Signs with ATL McNichols signed with the Falcons on Thursday, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.

Impact This will be the eighth team McNichols has spent time with since the Bucs made him a fifth-round pick in 2017, and it'll be the fifth team he's played a regular-season game for if he makes it that far. His chances are better in Atlanta than they would be practically anywhere else, joining a backfield that otherwise has Cordarrelle Patterson, Damien Williams, fifth-round rookie Tyler Allgeier and Qadree Ollison as the top candidates for jobs. Patterson is the lock of the bunch, but he's unlikely to handle a workhorse role, leaving room for someone else to get regular touches. McNichols has made 30 of his 34 regular-season appearances in a Titans uniform, mostly handling passing downs for Tennessee the past two seasons. Last year, he had nearly as many targets (38) as carries (41), even though Derrick Henry missed half the season with a foot injury.

MAY 26, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Tennessee Titans waive RB Jeremy McNichols, make other roster moves ahead of Texans game The Tennessee Titans waived running back Jeremy McNichols on Saturday, the team announced, among a flurry of roster moves ahead of Sunday's...

JANUARY 8, 2022 • TENNESSEAN.COM

Minimal role McNichols rushed the ball twice for 14 yards in Sunday's 34-3 win over the Dolphins.

Impact McNichols was the third back in Tennessee's rotation as he took the field for only six offensive snaps. His playing time could tick up in different game script given that his primary role for the team comes from work as a receiver out of the backfield. However, that may not come in Week 18 as the Titans should be favored in a matchup at Houston.

JANUARY 3, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Leads Tennessee in rushing McNichols recorded seven rushes for 31 yards in Thursday's 20-17 win over San Francisco.

Impact McNichols finished second on the team with seven rushing attempts, with only D'Onta Foreman (nine carries) earning more opportunity. He was fairly efficient his work, posting four gains of five or more yards on the ground. Contrary to his encouraging work as a rusher, McNichols' role as a pass catcher out of the backfield evaporated nearly entirely -- he was targeted only once and did not record a reception. Given the return of A.J. Brown (chest), McNichols' volume in the passing attack may not return in the team's final two games this season. That makes McNichols a difficult option to rely upon given his lack of bankable volume in Tennessee's split backfield.

DECEMBER 24, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Earns nine touches McNichols rushed six times for 26 yards in Sunday's 19-13 loss to the Steelers. He added three receptions for 25 yards.

Impact McNichols served as the Titans' third back, as he worked behind both D'Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard. Even so, Tennessee's run-heavy attack and lack of healthy wide receivers played to McNichols' advantage. His longest gain of the day came on a 12-yard reception, though he also chipped in a gain of nine on the ground. In two games since returning from a pair of absences, McNichols has combined to record 14 rush attempts and three receptions. His involvement in the offense gives him a safe floor but a very low ceiling as the third back on the depth chart.

DECEMBER 20, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Eight touches in return McNichols recorded eight rushes for 16 yards in Sunday's 20-0 win over the Jaguars.

Impact McNichols returned from a two-game absence and finished second on the team with eight rushes. The majority of that work came in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand, and he didn't do much to convince Tennessee that he should be working ahead of D'Onta Foreman or Dontrell Hilliard. While he managed a 12-yard gain, McNichols was otherwise primarily stuffed behind or at the line of scrimmage to turn in a disappointing performance in his return.

DECEMBER 13, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Practicing fully McNichols (concussion) was a full participant in practice Wednesday, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Impact After missing the Titans' last two games prior to the team's Week 13 bye, McNichols looks poised to play Sunday against the Jaguars. That said, McNichols' role upon his return to the lineup is somewhat unclear, with D'Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard both having performed capably in Tennessee's last outing, a 36-13 loss to the Patriots in Week 12.

DECEMBER 8, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Titans finally reach bye week with chance to rest, heal up

No NFL team needs its bye week as much as the Tennessee Titans

NOVEMBER 29, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cook carted off with shoulder injury; Samuel hurts groin

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was taken off the field on a cart with a shoulder injury in the third quarter of a 34-26 loss to the San Francisco 49ers

NOVEMBER 29, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Titans lose 36-13 to Patriots, fumble away AFC's No. 1 seed

A lot of things went wrong for the Tennessee Titans in their 36-13 loss to the Patriots and so many of them were self-inflicted

NOVEMBER 28, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Injuries leave Titans working with thin group at receiver

Julio Jones is on injured reserve

NOVEMBER 26, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Out again McNichols (concussion) is out for Sunday's game in New England, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports.

Impact McNichols still hasn't returned to practice and now will miss a second straight game. Last week, Dontrell Hilliard stepped in as the passing-down back and caught eight of 10 targets for 47 yards in a 22-13 loss to the Texans, adding seven rushes for 35 yards while playing 63 percent of snaps on offense. That's a bigger workload than McNichols has seen all year, and while a repeat isn't likely, Hilliard does have less competition for playing time with both McNichols and Adrian Peterson (released) out of the lineup. It appears the injury-ravaged Tennessee offense will have D'Onta Foreman as the lead runner and Hilliard as the substitute and passing-down back this Sunday against a red-hot Patriots defense, though the Titans also have RB Rodney Smith as a backfield option from the practice squad.

NOVEMBER 26, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Misses practice McNichols (concussion) didn't practice Wednesday.

Impact With McNichols absent from Sunday's 22-13 loss to Houston, the Titans deployed Dontrell Hilliard as their passing-down back -- a role that came with 63 percent snap share and 10 targets, a workload range McNichols has flirted with just once this season (40% and 12 targets in Week 4 at the Jets). In any case, one or the other will handle the role this Sunday in New England, where yardage and touchdowns may be in short supply even if the target volume checks out. The Titans also have major issues at wide receiver, where A.J. Brown (chest) and Marcus Johnson (IR/hamstring) have now (re)joined the lengthy list of injured players.

NOVEMBER 24, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Titans rule out Dupree, Davis among 7 out against Texans

Linebacker Bud Dupree is among seven Titans ruled out for Sunday’s game with the Houston Texans

NOVEMBER 19, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sitting out Week 11 McNichols (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Texans, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Impact After sustaining the head injury in last week's win over the Saints, McNichols didn't practice Wednesday through Friday and wasn't on course to clear the NFL's five-step concussion protocol by Sunday. McNichols' absence leaves D'Onta Foreman and Adrian Peterson as the Titans' healthy backs, but because neither player is an accomplished pass catcher, the team could promote Dontrell Hilliard from the practice squad prior to Sunday's game to give the team a third-down option.

NOVEMBER 19, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Remains absent Thursday McNichols (concussion) wasn't spotted at Thursday's practice, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Impact McNichols has now missed consecutive practices, putting his status for Sunday's game against the Texans in doubt. D'Onta Foreman and Adrian Peterson are in line to split early-down snaps in Tennessee's backfield against Houston, though it's not clear which running back would absorb the passing-down duties normally occupied by McNichols should he sit Sunday.

NOVEMBER 18, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Winning only stat important to Titans QB Ryan Tannehill

Ryan Tannehill is doing whatever it takes to help the Titans win

NOVEMBER 17, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS