NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans secondary is on track to get a lift Sunday as the unit prepares for a challenging matchup against Steve Smith, Torrey Smith and the rest of Baltimore's talented receiving corps.
Third-year cornerback Coty Sensabaugh is back to practicing full this week after missing Tennessee's last three games with an MCL strain.
"It feels good to be back out there with the guys moving around and just preparing for an opposition," Sensabaugh said. "The past few weeks I've just been in the training room working to get back. It feels good to be back, so I just feel grateful for the opportunity."
The injury occurred late in the team's Week 5 matchup with the Browns. During one of Cleveland's final possessions, Sensabaugh took friendly fire from a teammate, earning the corner plenty of quality time with the Titans training staff.
Sensabaugh joked that he got to know the trainers more than he ever hoped to, but used a proper balance between rest and rehab. Finding that balance is easier said than done when a player is unable to practice and game plan with the team.
The phrase* "patience is a virtue"* is probably the best way to describe Sensabaugh's return from injury.
"It's very difficult because you want to do anything you can to help the team that specific week," he explained. "When you can't get out there and physically help them it's very tough. You work so hard year round, then you get an injury and it's tough. I'm back now so I'm excited about it."
The bye week came at a perfect time for Sensabaugh, who says the time off finally allowed him to rest his body and mind knowing there was no game to prepare for.
"The bye week was definitely big because it allowed me to come up here and rehab and just rest," he said. "All that you can do with this injury besides rehab is rest, so that was real big."
Head coach Ken Whisenhunt wouldn't admit that Sensabaugh is a lock to play this week, but he likes what he's seen so far since the corner has returned to practice.
"We've got to see," Whisenhunt said cautiously. "Coty is a good young player at that position. It's been a few weeks since he's been able to play so we're still in the process of assessing where he is physically to see if he's ready to go back. You can never have enough of those types of players.
Sensabaugh took a similar approach in terms of his status this weekend against the Ravens.
"I'm feeling comfortable, but I'm still working my way back so we'll see how it goes the rest of this week just taking it one day at a time," he said.
The Titans secondary will use all the help they can get with Joe Flacco and company averaging 249.6 passing yards per game this season (12th in the NFL).
