NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When receiver Justin Hunter was carted off the field on Sunday with a fractured right ankle, the Titans knew they'd be without him for the rest of the season.
On Monday, Titans interim coach Mike Mularkey announced cornerback Jason McCourty would also be joining Hunter on season-ending Injured Reserve.
McCourty has missed five games with a groin injury that required surgery prior to the start of the season. McCourty will have a second procedure to repair the injury, Mularkey said.
"Justin is having surgery as we speak and he will go on IR today,'' Mularkey said of Hunter, who was injured in the final minutes of the team's 27-10 loss to the Panthers. "We are looking at some options."
The injuries leave the Titans thin at both positons.
Mularkey said Titans receiver Kendall Wright, who has missed two games with a knee injury, is improving, but his status for Thursday's game against the Jaguars remains uncertain.
The Titans are expected to promote receiver Tre McBride from the practice squad to the 53-man roster to take Hunter's spot in time for Thursday's game. Hunter's 2014 season was cut short because of a spleen injury.
Hunter caught 22 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown in nine games.
The Titans will have another roster spot to work with by placing McCourty on IR. McCourty played in four games this season, and finished with 16 tackles.
Mularkey said cornerback Perrish Cox, who missed Sunday's game with a nagging hamstring injury, is also improving, but his status moving forward is also uncertain. Cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson has been bothered by a hamstring injury as well, forcing young cornerbacks Cody Riggs and B.W. Webb into action.
"We have to figure out who is healthy,'' Mularkey said. "J-Mac, we are going to put him on IR with Justin.
"He's a good player, so that's a loss,' Mularkey said of McCourty. "His presence on the field, his presence in the locker room, in the meetings. I'm going to try and keep him involved with all of that because I think it is important that he is around those guys. They have a lot of respect for him, as the coaching staff does. It's a loss for sure."
Also, defensive lineman Al Woods suffered a high ankle sprain against the Panthers and is expected to miss several weeks.
