Patriots-Titans Injury Report

This being the Friday before Week 1 truly begins on Sunday afternoon, teams around the NFL released their injury reports for their first game of the 2012 season.

For the Patriots and Titans, there weren't too many surprises or impact players that are expected to be out.

On New England, running back Shane Vereen (foot) is the only guy that has been ruled out already. Keep in mind, that these designations can be changed before the opening kickoff on Sunday. Offensive lineman Nick McDonald (shoulder), rookie cornerback Alfonzo Dennard (hamstring), tight end Daniel Fells (shin), cornerback Sterling Moore (knee) and offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back) are all questionable which means they are 50/50 to play or sit.

Vereen has never been a factor as we enter his second season in the NFL mostly because of constant injuries or being buried on the depth chart. Clearly, Vollmer is the big name on that list for the Patriots. Their offensive line was a disaster in the preseason so that would be very negative if he's out. Moore and to a lesser degree Dennard are also important to the Pats secondary since who knows what to expect from that inconsistent group?

On the host Tennessee, offensive tackle Mike Otto (finger/knee) is their only player that has been ruled out. Additionally, defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks (knee) is doubtful (meaning unlikely to suit up) while defensive end Scott Solomon (knee), defensive tackle Jurrell Casey (elbow) and linebacker Zac Diles (hamstring) are all questionable.

Not to make fun of Otto or Marks but I've never even heard of them. Ditto for all the Titans that are questionable so needless to say, if none of them play I can't say it will be a huge loss.

Stay tuned before 1 p.m. on Sunday as I'll update this when I see further news on Twitter and online from Patriots beat writers that I trust (Greg Bedard, Mike Reiss, etc) and the team itself.

UPDATE 9/9: McDonald and Dennard are out, the Patriots will have to deactivate four other players tomorrow by 90 minutes before kickoff.

Fells, defensive end Jake Bequette, defensive tackle Marcus Forston and defensive end Justin Francis are the other inactives for the Pats.

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