On Sunday, a report came out that Kenny Britt's injured knee needed a second procedure.
And on Wednesday, Britt had that second operation as a "clean-up" procedure to alleviate swelling in the star wide receiver's right knee.
Britt underwent season-ending surgery last October to repair a torn ACL and a torn MCL from a hit suffered against the Denver Broncos.
The second surgery is not all that uncommon with major reconstructive knee surgeries, as Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan needed a second operation on his knee last year, something he did not have until the start of training camp last season.
"I think that's something that's common with that injury. Derrick went through it last year," Titans coach Mike Munchak said of Britt's injury. "The good thing is that even if you do have it, it's not a huge setback. It's not something that sets you way back."
The Titans are still hopeful that Britt will be healthy enough to take some part in training camp and the preseason, but the real goal, of course, is for him to be ready for the regular-season opener at home against the New England Patriots in September.
Of course, the other and more prevalent question is once Britt is back, how close will he be to the player who showed amazing talent last season before the injury with a pair of 100-yard receiving games. When Britt has been able to play for the Titans, he has been a major game-changer in the passing attack. But staying healthy has been an issue. A torn hamstring cost him playing time in 2010 when he was just beginning to come into his own.
The Titans wouldn't say it at the time of the draft, but perhaps part of the reason they opted to draft Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright in the first round was to hedge their bet with Britt's health.
Wright, while not nearly as tall as Britt, possesses some of the same sorts of skills with speed and the ability to run after catch to turn routine plays into big gains.
As for the rest of the Titans receiving corps, it survived the loss of Britt last year better than expected, as Nate Washington bloomed in year seven of his NFL career, turning in a 1,000-yard season and stepping up as a leader in the ranks.
"Coach Munchak, Chris Palmer and Coach (Dave Ragone) have talked to us a lot about opening it up a little more. I think this is going to be a pretty explosive offense," Washington said.
Beyond him, the Titans got decent mileage out of the likes of Damian Williams and Lavelle Hawkins, who had previously been bit players in the offense under the Jeff Fisher regime.
Tight end Jared Cook has also shown flashes of being a game-breaking pass-receiver at tight end, though consistency has still been an issue at times.
The bottom line with the Britt injury: He will be back close, if not right at, the start of the season, but he may not be the player he was before right away. But after managing without him for most of last year, Tennessee should be better equipped to deal with whatever comes up and however much Britt can contribute.
NOTES, QUOTES
Cornerback Jason McCourty has already circled Sept. 9 on his calendar. That's because it will be the first time McCourty will have ever played against his twin brother Devin, who plays cornerback for the New England Patriots.
"Honestly, it's going to be an amazing feeling, knowing the kind of life we've gone through together, with some of the struggles and some of the trials. Week one we'll be able to go out on that field together and in pre-game just say good luck to one another. I think that's gonna be a special moment for us," Jason said.
--LB Akeem Ayers is hoping to become a better pass rusher in year two as a Titan. Ayers, the team's second-round pick in 2011, was known as a pass rusher while at UCLA, but it only translated to two sacks during his first year in Tennessee. Now, the Titans have hired Keith Millard as a pass-rush coach to help Ayers and others as they try to bolster an anemic attack that had just 28 sacks a year ago.
"That's something that's important to me this offseason, is working on my pass rush," Ayers said. "I had a few opportunities last year, but I really didn't get the opportunity to work on it in the offseason (due to the lockout). This year, we've got Coach Millard here to really help with the pass rush."
--Titans director of security Steve Berk, a former New York police officer, will be retiring from the organization next month after 16 years on the job. It has been Berk's job to not only overall game-day security, but he also the liason between head coach and any player that got himself into trouble with the law. In other words, he has the thankless of job of monitoring Adam "Pacman" Jones during his lawless run in Tennessee. Berk will be replaced by Green Bay Police Commissioner Jim Arts to replace him.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I don't know if we needed more motivation. Whoever the running back would've been we just didn't run the ball well last year." -- left tackle Michael Roos on the need to fix the running game.
