All eyes are on the Tennessee Titans to watch the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, Cam Ward, start his NFL career in their preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Unfortunately, a significant contributor in their backfield, Tyjae Spears, suffered an injury.
What Happened to Tyjae Spears?
Spears limped off the field after he caught a pass in the second quarter of their preseason opener. The trainers attended to him for his injury before he was taken to the locker room on a cart for a leg injury.
Spears received reps alongside starting RB Tony Pollard throughout the first half. He left the game with three carries for one rushing yard and one catch for 13 receiving yards.
Tyjae Spears injury watch.He hopped onto a cart on the sideline and was driven into the locker room.Hopefully not a high ankle that would impact his early season production. https://t.co/Sl9vRxIxdn
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) August 10, 2025
Spears is being examined for a lower leg injury. If this is an ankle injury, it could be trouble for the running back and the Titans if it keeps him out of Week 1 and beyond. The depth of the backfield is weak, and Tennessee needs Spears to be healthy.
Titans RB Tyjae Spears was carted to the locker room tonight due to an apparent lower leg injury.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 10, 2025
Spears won’t return to tonight’s game. The Titans kept the 24-year-old running back in the game longer than they did for the other starters and paid the price. The AFC South franchise will hope this decision does not prove costly for their offensive outlook in 2025, as Spears offers a different dimension to their backfield to complement Pollard.
Saturday Night Update: After the game, head coach Brian Callahan revealed it is ankle injury for Spears. He said he will know more in a day or two and have that information available.
Spears was seen exiting the locker room with a walking boot and crutches. Obviously, that is very concerning and indicative of a multi-week injury. However, players are often put in a boot immediately to help reduce swelling.
As long as his ankle isn’t broken, in a worst case scenario, this is a severe high ankle sprain that would keep Spears out 6-8 weeks. Of course, if it is a break, Spears would be sidelined deep into the season. Hopefully, we get some good news early in the week.
Saturday Night Update 2: It is, in fact, a high ankle sprain for Spears. We don’t yet have a timetable for his return. But all things considered, this should probably be viewed as a favorable outcome.
Spears will undoubtedly miss the rest of the preseason. The question will be whether he can make it back in time for Week 1. That remains to be seen.
High ankle sprains typically have a 4-6 week return to play timeline. Six weeks would put Spears on track to return around Week 3.
This injury does have a tendency to linger and impact player performance several weeks after they are able to return. It’s something to keep in mind as fantasy managers head into the heart of draft season in a couple of weeks.
Fantasy Impact of Spears’ Injury
For reasons likely to remain a mystery, Spears stayed in the game deep into the second quarter after Ward and the starters exited. Perhaps this indicates that this backfield won’t be any more of a split than last year, when Pollard earned a 73% opportunity share, ninth in the league.
At the same time, Spears was, at worst, one of the better handcuffs in the league, with the possibility for standalone value. If Spears’ injury lingers into the season, no one on this depth chart is worthy of taking his place. We would return to Pollard playing as much as he can handle.
In the short term, Spears’ injury will lower his ADP and raise Pollard’s. In the long term, it depends on the severity of the injury. Pollard would become a far more intriguing fantasy option, but also a more expensive one, without Spears in the picture.
This article was gathered automatically by our news bot. The contents of the article have been rewritten automatically.
