Titans’ DeAndre Hopkins reveals July knee injury was MCL tear; hopes to play in Week 1 | News, scores, highlights, stats & rumors

“I had the MCL tear about four and a half, five weeks ago, so the thing about those things is it takes a whole year to heal,” Hopkins said. “Obviously, it hurts at that point.”

While a torn MCL typically requires a longer recovery period, he said he hopes to be back on the field in Week 1 when the Titans take on the Chicago Bears.

“Right now I think hopefully I can perform and deliver on Sunday,” he said.

In 2021, while playing for the Arizona Cardinals, Hopkins suffered a torn MCL that required surgery and forced him to miss the final six games of the season and a playoff game. According to Kuharsky, he did not have surgery this time around, but he could miss two to three months if he requires surgery later this year.

In his first year at Tennessee, Hopkins led the team with 1,057 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

If Hopkins is sidelined at any point this season, the Titans still have a solid receiving core to rely on. Tennessee signed wide receiver Calvin Ridley this offseason after he posted 1,016 receiving yards and eight touchdowns with the Jacksonville Jaguars a season ago. The Titans also added Tyler Boyd, who had 667 yards and two touchdowns a year ago.

From there, Tennessee will need some solid production from its second-string receivers like Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Treylon Burks. Westbrook-Ikhine had 370 receiving yards and three touchdowns a year ago, while Burks had 221 receiving yards last season.

The Titans struggled last season, finishing 6-11 as rookie quarterback Will Levis found his stride. With Levis entering his sophomore year and Hopkins looking ready to play early this season, Tennessee will look to bounce back and make its first playoff push since 2021.