Tennessee Titans put WR Cody Hollister on IR, sign veteran OLB for pass rush help
The Tennessee Titans signed veteran outside linebacker Tarell Basham to their 53-man roster Monday, offsetting the move by putting wide receiver Cody Hollister on injured reserve.
Basham has 11 sacks in his six NFL seasons, which he's spent with the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys. He played in two games for the Cowboys this season, playing 33 defensive and special teams snaps with no stats recorded. He matched his career-high with 3.5 sacks last season, making 39 tackles with 11 quarterback hits, a forced fumble and three tackles for loss.
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The Titans have struggled generating a pass rush the last three weeks. Since their six-sack, 18-quarterback-hit game against the Denver Broncos, the Titans have only made four sacks and 10 quarterback hits in three games since. With outside linebacker Harold Landry III on injured reserve, defensive lineman Denico Autry sidelined with a knee injury and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons playing through an ankle injury that has kept him out of more practices than he's participated in since the end of October, adding Basham's experience can elevate the room.
Hollister missed practice last week and Sunday's 35-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles with a neck injury. He caught three passes for 54 yards in 11 games this year. He's only been targeted five times and is primarily used as a blocker.
With Hollister on IR, the Titans only have four receivers on their 53-man roster: Veterans Robert Woods and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, return specialist C.J. Board and rookie Treylon Burks, who left Sunday's game to be evaluated for a concussion. Titans coach Mike Vrabel said Monday that the team might be able to elevate receiver Racey McMath off injured reserve and open his return-to-play window this week for the first time since he went out with a hip injury in August.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans sign Tarell Basham, put Cody Hollister on IR
