Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Treylon Burks Has Turf Toe: Dr. Chao Explains, Offensive Impact & Injury Updates

Episode Date: October 3, 2022

The Tennessee Titans won in Indianapolis on Sunday, but it was not without bad news right around the corner. Titans rookie receiver Treylon Burks has been diagnosed with turf toe. What is turf toe and how long will Burks be out? Dr. David Chao(@ProFootballDoc on Twitter) stops by to answer those questions. Next, while Burks injury isn't worst case scenario, it will still affect the offense in a major way. Tyler goes over why it hurts so much and what the Titans can do to replace Burks. Finally, we got additional injury updates to a number of Titans players on Monday inculding Elijah Molden, Racey McMath & Monty Rice. Tyler goes over the latest news.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NFLNETWORK.PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnNFL to learn more.EliasTake this NFL season to the next level and download the Elias Game Plan App today and use promo code locked-on-nfl-25 to get 25% off your first month when you choose the monthly subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, Traylon Burks has turf toe. What is that and how long should we expect him to be out? Dr. Chow, the pro football doc, joins the show to break down the injury. Then I look at what the Titans have as options going forward, what it means for the offense, and who could replace Burks. And finally, we'll finish off with some more injury talk as guys like Elijah Moulton,

Racey McMath, and Monty Rice are eligible to come off of IR this week. All of that and more on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it! Let's get it. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Titans fans, we have a ton of injury news to discuss today, starting with Traylon Burks having turf toe. What does it mean?

When should we expect him back? Dr. David Chow, the pro football doc on Twitter, is going to join the show to break it down. Before we get into my interview with the doctor, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen or you just haven't subscribed yet, make sure that you do and stay locked into the Locked on Titans podcast free Monday through Friday. Tennessee Titans content, not only during the season, but all year round on all platforms, including the Locked on Titans YouTube channel.

Subscribe there, smash the notification bell, and throw a thumbs up on the video if you think the Titans will defeat the Commanders on Sunday. But with all that being said, let's dive into this interview with Dr. David Chow on Traylon Burks' turf toe. It is my pleasure to bring on Dr. David Chow on Twitter, at ProFootballDoc, former head team doctor in the NFL for 17 years, an orthosurgeon,

and, of course, given incredible medical analysis at all times on social media and a ton of different platforms. Doctor, how are you doing this evening? I'm doing well. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, not a problem at all. As I always tell my audience, I am not a doctor. That's why I decided to get the best of the best to come on and explain what is turf toe. Turf toe is called turf toe because your toe, big toe gets jammed in the turf. It's typically, without getting too medical, a hyper dorsiflexion. The big toe comes up injury and it's jammed. And the severest forms, you end up tearing your plantar plate.

you end up tearing your plantar plate. The sesamoids can retract. And very severe forms can even need surgery. I'm not suggesting Traylon Burks need surgery or is the very severe form. But what's important about a turf toe, you're probably too young. My guys in the room, we have like eight, 10 guys here in the command center. And this morning when we were doing our podcast, I said, should I make a Sergeant Holka reference? And they did not even know what I was talking about. Are you a Stripes guy? I mean.

No, you got me too on that, Doc. Oh, see, you'll have to watch Stripes sometime. Sergeant Holka and the big toe analogy. Big toe is important. Over 50% of your push-off when you're running, jumping, cutting, accelerating translates through the big toe. So if that's sore and you're running on the outside of your foot, you're losing 50% of your power. So that's what makes the turf toe important and a big deal for a player like Traylon Burks. Now he's going to miss some time. It could have been worse.

Liz Frank might be worse. It's not surgery. How much time of course is the question mark and how effective can he be? And when can he return is the question mark? Yeah. Well, doctor, that is an incredible softball for me to go ahead and just whack out of the park on that. When you led right into it, that's the real question that I'm sure Titans fans are going to have at this point. It, it looks like, as you mentioned, he's going to avoid surgery. So hopefully it's not one of the more severe instances of turf toe. But what would a realistic, without surgery, what would a realistic recovery timeline look like for Burks where he could be back out on the field?

Well, I think you're going to have to watch practice reports and the portion open to media and see how he moves kind of thing. I mean, we're certainly hopeful that this stays underneath the four-week IR situation. But, and really, sometimes for a return to play, it really depends on need, right? Sometimes, you know, 80% let's go because you're all we got. And sometimes, no, no, let's wait until you're closer to 100 before you return. And so that's where recovery and return to play is tricky. You can use a steel plate. There's different tape, but then it limits your effectiveness to push off. So this is a

significant deal, a significant injury for a young wide receiver. And it's going to affect him some way, shape, or form over the next few weeks, whether it's complete absence or limited return. Yeah, I would imagine that he'll probably be out for a while. The Titans do have a bye coming up, so there is some talk about him going on IR. If you see them put him on IR, that's obviously a minimum of four weeks with the turf toe. Do you think he would be able to get back within a four to four to six week timeframe? Are we looking more at two months? What week is the buy? The buy for the Titans is in week six. So they play one more game and then they have their buy and an important division game at home with Indy. Um, I mean, he's very

important to the team. So with that fact pattern, thanks for filling me in. I don't have all that. That's what I'm here for. But I'm hoping for Titans fans that he can avoid IR. Because if you hit IR for four weeks, it's really a five-week timeline. The bye doesn't count. You have to miss four games. So five weeks would be a lot I you know unless there's something on the MRI or something different I would hope what

they're trying to do is he's not playing this week and then you add in the next week's rest and then you're close to three weeks before he plays in that next contest uh for you guys uh as you've termed an important one. So that's your fingers crossed timeline right there. Looking at three weeks with the fingers crossed. If things are kind of on the rough side, are we looking at more, maybe six weeks to two months? Is that a possibility?

It's possible, but I would hope not. I mean, kind of situation. I mean, it's possible, but, uh, you know, I think it's a realistic chance. They're trying to shoot for that three week mark. And so miss this one, miss the buy, and then play in that divisional game, as you suggest. Doctor, I, I appreciate you coming on and informing us, uh, about this injury and what a timeline could look like for the Titans. Uh, let the people know where they can find your updates, your analysis,

and any of the work you want to put out there. Well, the best place to go is Sports Injury Central, SICscore.com. And what you can then see there, if you go to the six score pages in the six score tab, is field views of the Titans' health on offense and defense against the next opponent on offense and defense. And we have health scores graded down to run offense versus run defense, et cetera. Like what is Derrick Henry facing this week in terms of the front seven, et cetera? And I think it can be helpful, especially almost everyone does some sort of fantasy.

Look, I am not a fantasy expert. I'm sure you're much more than I am. Okay. I'm an injury expert, but when people say, should I play running back a or B maybe, and you're, it's a toss up. Maybe you need to look at the health of your offensive line or the health of the opposing defense that you're facing. Not just historically, how have they been against the run? How are they this week? Thank you so much for coming on the show, doctor. I appreciate it. Have a fantastic evening. Thank you. All right, guys. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Dr. David Chow. Once again, you can find him on Twitter at pro football doc. So not the best news,

not the worst news either, though. It definitely could have been worse. All I really know is the Titans need Traylon Burks back as soon as possible. How will they deal with his absence? What are they losing without having Burks on the field? I'm going to dive into that. And at the end of the show, we're going to talk about Elijah Molden, Racey McMath, and Monty Rice and their potential return to the Titans now that they're eligible to come off IR. Before we get into that though, do want to tell you guys about a wonderful product from our friends over at Athletic Greens. It's the AG1. Guys, the AG1 comes to you. It's in powder form. You take one scoop of it. You throw it in a glass of water in the morning. You drink it and it can have a major impact on your day

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to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance. Titans fans, let's continue today's Locked on Titans podcast. We just spoke with the doctor, Dr. Chow, to give us a breakdown on Traylon Burks' turf toe and how long he should be out. Now I want to spin it forward to more of a football conversation, talk about what the Titans are losing within their offense here with Burks being out and how they can possibly replace that.

Before I dive into it, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you check out the NFL Key Predictions every Friday on the Locked On NFL YouTube channel. Locked On's local experts give you the inside scoop on the five biggest games of the NFL weekend, including Sunday and Monday Night Football. Plus, they'll give you betting advice from the field's leading experts.

Bet online. Follow NFL Key Predictions every Friday on Locked On NFL, available on the Odyssey app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. But it's something that I talked about early on in the season on one of our rewatch Wednesdays. The reality of the Titans offense is they like to be in heavy tight end personnel, maybe even a fullback on the field. Usually we're looking at 12 personnel.

That's one running back and two tight ends. I think Derrick Henry in the backfield with Swaim and Hooper, Swaim and Chig out there in a single back set with two tight ends. Think Derrick Henry in the backfield with Swaim and Hooper, Swaim and Chig out there in a single back set with twins tight ends or maybe ace where it's balanced. That's what the Titans like to be in. They even like to go into 21 personnel where they have one tight end on the field,

two wide receivers, and two running backs in the backfield. That's where the Titans feel most comfortable is in those formations. When they're in those formations, typically they have two wide receivers. Well, it's important that out of those two wide receivers, both of them are legitimate threats that have to be respected. So Titans pet play, PA glance, PA strike, whatever you want to call it. Play action fake to Derrick Henry. Got one wide receiver crossing over the middle of the field. You guys have seen the Titans hit that play a million times.

And then the other wide receiver is usually going deep, either with a go route, a streak, a nine route, whatever you want to call it, or they're going to run a deep post. Either way, the idea is one wide receiver is going to occupy their cornerback and the deep safety while the other wide receiver beats their cornerback, goes over the middle of the field, takes advantage of the space created by the linebackers coming up and play action. That is the Titans bread and butter. I've talked so much about outside zone in the last few weeks for the Titans run game. The outside zone of the passing game

is that PA glance, PA strike, whatever you want to call it. Play action fake to the deep or play action fake to the in route, to the slant route, to the cross route. However you want to put it together. That is what the Titans do best. And here's the reality. When they don't have a wide receiver that you respect going vertically, the guy who's pulling the deep safety and taking his attention, that allows the deep safety to start to creep forward on that crossing route, that end route, that slant over the middle. So now the advantage created by the linebackers being pulled up by play action,

that advantage is no longer there because the deep safety has come down and taken away the middle of the field. And again, if you don't have a guy who's threatening going deep, who teams are worried about going deep, then just let the cornerback stick with them and safety, you go ahead and come up. That's the problem that the Titans had last year when all their wide receivers were hurt. That's the problem that the Titans had last year when all their wide receivers were hurt. That's the problem that they're going to have right now. The Titans started to have some success in the play action game, some real success over the last few weeks because Traylon Burks and Robert Woods were getting the most snaps. Woods may not be some kind of burner,

but it's Robert Woods. I equate this to gravity in basketball. So you hear a lot about the Golden State Warriors, Steph Curry's gravity, Klay Thompson's gravity. So what that means is when you have such a good three-point shooter out there, it opens up the paint. That's why Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Bucs, they surround Giannis with four guys who can shoot threes. What that's

going to do is that's going to pull their defenders just a little bit more out to the three point line and open up just a little bit more of a crevice in the paint to allow for what really matters in basketball and that's paint points. So in the NFL what

really matters is explosive plays. You have to have explosive plays on offense. It's so hard to meticulously drive down 10 play, 12 play. When the Titans' offense was the best it's ever been in the history of this franchise, it was because of the explosive plays. And the Titans get those explosive plays in the pass game with the play action. So, if you don't have good three-point shooting,

you're cramping the paint for your star. If you don't have wide receivers that threaten downfield, you're cramping the intermediate, you're cramping the run game, you're cramping everything. There's not enough space. Because the wide receivers the Titans are using

in these situations are not going to have enough gravity. That's where we're at. So those pet plays the Titans like to use, if you've got Nick Westbrook-Akina or you've got Cody Hollister out there, it's not going to work, either as the over-the-middle guy because they're not going to be able to take advantage of the situation because they're not talented enough or as the deep guy because they're not going to be respected.

Therefore, they're not going to have enough gravity to open up the middle of the field for Robert Woods. Either way, this is an incredibly tough loss because of that fact and it's something that I've been talking about. Now, what can the Titans do going forward though? What can the Titans do to solve this issue? Well, there is no solving the issue, but I think they need increased reps from Josh Gordon.

Josh Gordon has the speed. Maybe he's not quite the blocker that some of the other guys are, but the Titans have to have somebody with some explosiveness, some receiving talent, and Josh Gordon is that. So I'm expecting a lot more Josh Gordon here and then I would also expect Des Fitzpatrick to be pulled up. I would also say,

as I've been saying, now no one else has picked up this guy so maybe that's a big red flag. But I think the Titans, the Titans are like a 40-year-old virgin. They don't have time to worry about red flags. They need to find a mate. And the Titans don't have time to worry about red flags. They need to find a mate. And the Titans don't have time to worry about red flags.

They need to find explosive receiving options. And one guy who is available, despite as many red flags as you could maybe wave, is Will Fuller. And he's a guy who's worked with Tim Kelly. So Tim Kelly can translate certain things in the offense and get him out there for 10 snaps, 10 reps. That's it.

Deep shots, pure passing situations. Let Will Fuller be out there. So Josh Gordon, more Des Fitzpatrick, or go get Will Fuller. What do you guys want? All I can tell you is there isn't a great trade option out there. There isn't a great option in free agency, and we know the Titans like to solve these problems from within, even if it doesn't solve the problem,

so I expect a lot more Josh Gordon, and I expect Des Fitzpatrick to get the call up, and maybe some of you Des truthers can see Des Fitzpatrick finally take advantage of an opportunity. But either way, that's what I'm seeing from the Titans on offense that makes me really worried about not having Burks. Luckily, I think against the Commanders, the Texans, the Colts, the Titans might be able to win without trailing Burks.

But I know that even if it's not Burks catching the ball, just his presence on the offense is so, so important, and the Titans don't have a great answer for how to replace him. But some answers they might have in other areas are some guys who are potentially able to come off IR this week, Elijah Molden, Ray C. McMath, and Monty Rice. I'll give you guys the latest update on those folks in just a moment. Before I get into it, though,

I do want to tell you guys about our sponsor, BetOnline. So, BetOnline is the number one source for all your football betting info this season. They have the latest player developments, team matchups. They have news. They have in-depth articles and analysis on every game. As always, BetOnline remains your continued source for all your sport wagering information. They have live betting, up-to-the-minute scores for every sport out there.

They have MLB, NBA, NFL, MMA, boxing, golf. They even have esports. Head to BetOnline.net or use your mobile device to learn more about all the trends and all the action. BetOnline, where the game starts. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast with some injury updates on Elijah Molden, Monty Rice, and Racey McMath, three Tennessee Titans who have been on IR for quite some time.

We're going to dive into that. Before we do, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do. Stream for daily Monday through Friday. Free Tennessee Titans content. Locked on Titans your team every day. For your second listen, check out

the Peacock and Williamson NFL show. Brian Peacock, NFL analyst. Matt Williamson, former NFL scout. They give you all of the national angles you could ever want. Matt Williamson said that the Colts would finish first in the division and the Jags would finish second. The Titans would finish third. Maybe a good time to tune into his thoughts and what he had to say about that. Just saying. Anyways, moving forward here. So we'll start

with the good news. Monty Rice. So the Titans have been decimated at linebacker for some time. Zach Cunningham out. Monte Rice has been out. Chance Campbell has been out. We know that Joe Jones is really more of a special teams guy, but surprisingly Dylan Cole has played pretty well the last two games.

Not only that, but Joe Schober. Joe Schober played great for the Titans in 15 pass coverage snaps yesterday. I was shocked. I was shocked. So, I don't want to take, I don't want to overreact to yesterday or Sunday's game and act like the Titans have their linebacker issues solved with Sjobert and Cole.

But still, it's pretty solid to see what they were able to do. But either way, help is on the way. Monty Rice has been on PUP. Mike Vrabel said they're hopeful to get Monty Rice out to the practice field this week. They have begun his 21-day window. He has a 21-day window of practice where the Titans have until they decide whether to fully activate him.

So basically three weeks of practice before they have to decide whether to bring him off IR or not. No, it was an Achilles issue. We've never got the full details on exactly what the injury was. We've just been told it was Achilles. We don't know if it was a tear, if it was a strain, if it was. We have no idea. But either way, Monty Rice returning to the practice field this week.

That's big for the Titans who just need better linebacker play, especially in pass coverage. Monty Rice should be able to help there a little bit. But just having more depth at the position as the Titans try to go through the rest of the season, just to add another guy in there, absolutely critical. So great news to hear that Monty Rice will be back at practice, hopefully for the Titans. But the reason that even though Mike Grable didn't confirm he'd be back at practice, just him saying hopeful gives me great optimism is because the way Mike Grable talked about the other two guys, and that's Elijah Molden

and Racey McMath. And dear God, after we just talked about the other two guys, and that's Elijah Molden and Racey McMath. And dear God, after we just talked about Traylon Burks and what the Titans are missing on offense, getting Racey McMath back and his speed down the field would be huge for this offense, would just be absolutely huge. And the fact that he's not ready to practice yet, it's definitely a damper on what's going on right now. Where the Titans need help at receiver,

they can't get that help back from Racey McMath yet. That is unfortunate. He is eligible to come off IR now because it's been four weeks, but clearly based on what Mike Grable said, he's not quite ready. And another guy, it's very disappointing that he's not ready, is Elijah Molden. The Titans need their physical slot cornerback back so bad to help in the run game and just to help even in pass cover. I trust Elijah Molden more than I trust some of these guys the Titans have been putting out there. And Elijah Molden, not only can Elijah Molden play cornerback and play slot cornerback on early downs, but I think Elijah Molden can help out at safety as well. I don't know if Imani Hooker's going to play this week.

He's still not out of concussion protocol. Andrew Adams, Josh Kalou specifically, were terrible in pass coverage against the Colts. They were terrible. Okay? So, Elijah Molden not only could help at cornerback, he could help at safety, help as a tight end matchup guy. It's definitely unfortunate news that the Titans aren't going to be getting

Elijah Molden back in racing and back to practice this week. But they need them as soon as possible. But that is the latest news, the latest update for those guys. That's going to do it for me today. I hope you guys found this episode super informational. Tomorrow, Rewatch Wednesday, going over what I saw on tape. Thursday, Crossover Thursday with my guy, Dan

Harrison, David Harrison from Locked On Commanders. Friday is another Game Plan Friday. Make sure you guys stay locked in to the Locked On Titans podcast. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this

was Locked on Titans.