Zach Brown is out for the year. (Zaviar Gooden)
Tennessee Titans linebacker Zach Brown suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the season opener and will miss the rest of the season.
Zaviar Gooden replaced Brown against the Kansas City Chiefs at weakside inside linebacker and will enter the starting lineup beginning Sunday when the Titans host the Dallas Cowboys.
“The thing that I learned a long time ago was, ‘Stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready,'” Gooden told The Tennessean. “And I prepare like I am a starter. I know each linebacker position, so no matter who goes down, I am ready to go in. I believe I am a starter, so I have expectations when I go in.”
Brown suffered the injury just four plays into the opener while trying to make a tackle, and spent the remainder of the game watching from the sideline with his arm in a sling.
A second-round pick in 2012 out of North Carolina, Brown started 26 of 32 games over the past two seasons.
“I am disappointed, but you have to just keep it moving,” Brown said. “They told me to keep my head up and I’m going to do that.”
The Titans also signed tight end Brett Brackett to their practice squad and released tight end Orson Charles from the practice squad.
Brackett (6-foot-5, 246 pounds) entered the NFL in 2011 as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State with the Miami Dolphins. He spent time on the practice squad in 2011 with the Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars. He also has time with the Philadelphia Eagles and was with Miami in training camp this season.
