Tony Pollard Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Titans fired HC Brian Callahan. He finishes his tenure with a 4-19 record. This year’s Titans are sitting at 1-5 with a league-worst -78 point differential. Tennessee's offense ranks:

• 31st in points per game
• 32nd in yards per game
• 31st in EPA per play

Callahan isn’t completely to blame, of course. The offensive line has struggled, the pass-catching corps is underwhelming, and QB Cam Ward has played like a rookie. We’ll see who the Titans tab as interim HC, but OC Nick Holz and QBs coach Bo Hardegree figure to be in charge of the offense. Hardegree has called plays the last three weeks, leading the team to 32 total points. The offense can’t get much worse post-Callahan, but we’re not counting on it getting significantly better any time soon.

Titans RB Tyjae Spears returned from IR to run as the No. 2 RB in Sunday's win over the Cardinals. He drew about a third as much playing time as starter Tony Pollard, getting 17 snaps to Pollard's 49. Spears ran 10 pass routes vs. 29 for Pollard, according to Pro Football Focus. Spears didn't see a target but did carry four times for 14 yards (3.5 per rush). Pollard continued to dominate backfield work, posting a 14-67-1 rushing line plus 3 receptions for 11 yards.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor delivered his second 3-TD game of the season in Sunday's beatdown of the Raiders. Taylor tallied a 17-66-3 rushing line to go with 3 receptions for 20 yards. DJ Giddens followed with 22 yards on five carries. Ameer Abdullah also made his Colts debut, running for 6 yards and a TD on two carries.

Titans RB Tyjae Spears (ankle) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Cardinals. HC Brian Callahan said Friday that Spears had a “good week of practice,” but his ankle was still heavily wrapped. Don’t expect a big workload for Spears if he makes his debut on Sunday. He’s not a Week 5 fantasy option, but his return would ding RB Tony Pollard.

The Titans are expected to open RB Tyjae Spears' 21-day practice window this week, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Spears landed on IR entering the season because of a high ankle sprain suffered back on Aug. 9. The window means he could practice for as much as three weeks before the team has to decide whether to activate him.

There was some optimism ahead of Tennessee's Week 4 game in Houston as the Titans felt like they had a good shot at securing their first win against the 0-3 Texans. But another anemic performance by Tennessee's 31st-ranked offense resulted in a 26-0 defeat to drop the Titans to 0-4.

Tennessee mustered only 175 yards of offense and failed to run a single play in the red zone despite trailing the game by only six points in the fourth quarter.

Titans HC Brian Callahan is handing off play-calling duties to QBs coach Bo Hardegree. It's an interesting decision to go with Hardegree rather than OC Nick Holz. The Titans offense has been a mess through three games, ranking 28th in points, 31st in total yards, and dead last in yards per play. The offensive line has struggled with injuries to OT J.C. Latham and G Kevin Zeitler, while WR Calvin Ridley has been far too quiet. Hardegree's only play-calling experience came in nine games for the 2023 Raiders as interim OC. That team averaged 22.9 points per game under Hardegree -- up from 15.8 over the first eight games. We'll see what Hardegree does for the Titans going forward, but it's tough to imagine the offense getting any worse. The unit should at least benefit from an easier schedule after Week 4. Tennessee has opened with a gauntlet of defenses: Broncos, Rams, Colts, Texans.

Week 2 found Titans RB Tony Pollard garnering an even larger work share than he got in the opener. Pollard handled all 20 of the team's RB rushing attempts in the loss to the Rams, tallying 92 yards. Pollard went catchless on just one target but also ran 33 routes vs. five for No. 2 RB Julius Chestnut. That route total ranked Pollard second on the team behind only Calvin Ridley, according to Pro Football Focus.

Titans OC Nick Holz noted Tuesday that RB Tony Pollard "wore down a little bit" last year. "We gotta get Julius Chestnut and Kalel Mullings ready to take some of the workload off of Tony this week," Holz added.

The Titans are placing RB Tyjae Spears on IR, knocking him out for the first four games of the season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Spears suffered a high-ankle sprain in Tennessee's preseason opener on August 9. It was obviously a significant injury to land him on IR. Spears was still in a walking boot this past weekend.

Titans RB Tyjae Spears suffered a high right ankle sprain in Saturday's exhibition game against Tampa Bay. ESPN's Turron Davenport called it an "initial" diagnosis. But we'd bet that diagnosis sticks and that the only lingering aspect is determining the severity.

Titans RB Tyjae Spears suffered an apparent lower-body injury in Saturday's preseason game. He was able to limp off the field but was eventually carted back to the locker room. We'll update Spears' status when we know more. A significant injury would be a big boost to RB Tony Pollard's fantasy stock.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, RB Tyjae Spears is poised for an uptick in workload this season. Pollard missed five games last year but if he can stay healthy, more work should be available.

Titans HC Brian Callahan said Tuesday that he's looking for a more even distribution of touches this season between RBs Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears. He added that he might even get a third RB — Julius Chestnut or Kalel Mullings — involved.

Titans RB Tony Pollard (ankle) is active for today’s game vs. the Texans. He got in two limited practices this week and was listed as questionable, so it’s safe to assume he’s not at 100%. But Pollard needs 83 rushing yards to earn a $250,000 incentive and two rushing TDs for another $200,000. The Titans could push him to get there if that ankle holds up.

Titans RB Tony Pollard is expected to play Sunday against the Texans, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Pollard is officially questionable and missed the week's final practice. He should easily lead the backfield with Tyjae Spears (concussion) out, but his lingering ankle issue adds some risk. Julius Chestnut sits next in line for touches.

Titans RB Tony Pollard (ankle) is listed as questionable for this weekend's game vs. the Texans. He put in limited practices on Wednesday and Thursday before sitting out on Friday. HC Brian Callahan labeled him a game-time decision. Pollard is pushing to play to pick up the 83 more rushing yards he needs to earn a $250,000 incentive. We'll get Tennessee's inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday. RB Tyjae Spears (concussion) has been ruled out, so the Titans will be down to RBs Julius Chestnut and Joshua Kelley if Pollard can't play.