Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears suffered a hamstring injury during the team’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6. He missed last week’s game against the Buffalo Bills, and now his status for Week 8 is up in the air. What’s the latest on Spears’ status, and will he play this week against the Detroit Lions?
What Happened to Tyjae Spears?
In Week 6, Spears tweaked his hamstring late in the first half of the Titans’ game against the Colts. He had a carry on the final play of the first half and did not return to the game.
Spears was having a good first half, rushing for 27 yards on six carries, a 4.5 yards-per-carry average that was his second-highest in a game this season (behind only his 5.3 yards per attempt in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears).
Spears was almost immediately ruled out for the Week 7 tilt versus the Bills. Although he wasn’t officially ruled out until later in the week, Titans head coach Brian Callahan said last Monday that Spears was “week to week” with his hamstring injury.
#Titans coach Brian Callahan tells reporters that RB Tyjae Spears is considered week-to-week with a hamstring injury, likely meaning he’ll miss time.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 14, 2024
Spears was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice due to his hamstring injury, and it remains to be seen if he’ll play in Week 8 against the Lions.
Monitor the practice reports throughout the rest of the week to see if Spears can get in a full practice, and then be sure to check the Titans’ injury report on Friday.
Fantasy Outlook for Spears and Tony Pollard
Spears has not excelled in his reserve role so far this season, averaging well under four yards a carry (3.5) and less than 25 rushing yards a game. He hasn’t been used much as a ball carrier, however, with only 33 rush attempts in five games this season. Also, Spears has just one touchdown this season.
After averaging 9.0 fantasy points per game as a rookie in 2023, Spears’ fantasy PPG average has been even lower this season (7.4). However, before his injury, Spears’ fantasy value had been trending up. He had 10.1 fantasy points in Week 3 and a season-high 11.9 fantasy points in Week 4.
Tyjae Spears scores on the direct snap!
📺: #TENvsMIA on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/zi5S8nlTbd— NFL (@NFL) October 1, 2024
Entering this season, some analysts wondered if Spears would be the Titans’ RB1. However, that role has belonged to Tony Pollard, who has 94 carries for 400 yards and three touchdowns while adding 18 receptions for 86 yards.
Pollard has been a top-20 running back in the majority of Tennessee’s games this season, though I can’t help but feel he is on borrowed time. Due to a lack of respect for this passing game, 40.4% of his carries this season have come against loaded boxes, resulting in less than a foot gained per carry before contact.
That’s a dangerous line to walk, especially for a team that is a serious risk to be scripted out of their ground attack this week.
That said, an Aidan Hutchinson-less version of this defense proved to have some holes in it last week against the Minnesota Vikings, whose second play was a 34-yard cutback touchdown by Aaron Jones. That could be the case moving forward, including in Week 8 against the Titans.
The Lions allow rushing scores to opposing running backs at the fourth-highest rate this season, a metric that keeps Pollard inside my top 20, even if I have lasting concerns.
Spears could return to action this week, but with just one game of more than eight touches, I’m not overreacting to the status of Tennessee’s RB2.