The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are nearly upon us, with just two races remaining in the 2025 regular season following Shane van Gisbergen’s win at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, Aug. 10.

Van Gisbergen collected his fourth win of 2025 to tie Denny Hamlin for the most victories this season.

Sixteen drivers will compete in the 10-race playoffs, and only three berths remain available, with 13 drivers already locked into the postseason. Drivers clinch automatic spots in the playoffs with a victory in any regular-season race (not including The Clash and All-Star race) if there are not more than 16 different winners in a season – which there won’t be this year.

If a winless driver takes the checkered flag at either of the next two races – at Richmond Raceway and Daytona International Speedway – he will gain entry to the playoffs. If not, the remaining spots will be allocated to the winless drivers with the most points this season.

Winless drivers currently above the cut line will have to weigh – along with their crew chiefs and owners – whether to prioritize points in the final two regular-season races to maintain their position in the standings or race for the win. For those below the cut line, Richmond and Daytona will be must-win situations.

Here’s a look at the top 20 drivers in the standings following Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen ranked by playoff seeding as of now:

NASCAR driver standings — Projected 2025 playoffs

A look at the top 20 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, ranked by projected playoff seeding with two races remaining in regular season.

Includes rank, driver, wins (playoff points in parentheses), regular-season points, and points above or below 16-driver cut line, where applicable:

Denny Hamlin….. 4 (24) ….. 731
Shane Van Gisbergen….. 4 (22) ….. 441
Christopher Bell….. 3 (17) ….. 727
Kyle Larson….. 3 (23) ….. 727
William Byron….. 2 (17) ….. 812
Chase Elliott….. 1 (6) ….. 770
Ryan Blaney….. 1 (11) ….. 710
Chase Briscoe….. 1 (7) ….. 674
Bubba Wallace….. 1 (7) ….. 610
Joey Logano….. 1 (7) ….. 583
Ross Chastain….. 1 (6) ….. 571
Austin Cindric….. 1 (8) ….. 502
Josh Berry….. 1 (6) ….. 445
Tyler Reddick….. 0 (1) ….. 701 ….. +117
Alex Bowman….. 0 (0) ….. 644 ….. +60
Chris Buescher….. 0 (-3) ….. 618 ….. +34
Ryan Preece….. 0 (2) ….. 584 ….. -34
Kyle Busch….. 0 (0) ….. 516 ….. -102
Ty Gibbs….. 0 (0) ….. 493 ….. -125
AJ Allmendinger….. 0 (0) ….. 489 ….. -129

Upcoming NASCAR Cup Series races

Here are the final two races in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season. You can stream both races on Fubo, which is offering a free trial to new subscribers.

Watch NASCAR Cup races on Fubo

At Richmond Raceway

Race: Cook Out 400
Date: Saturday, Aug. 16
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Richmond, Virigina
TV channel: USA Network
Streaming: HBO Max and Fubo

At Daytona International Speedway

Race: Coke Zero Sugar 400
Date: Saturday, Aug. 23
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
TV channel: NBC
Streaming: HBO Max and Fubo

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Alex Palou put to bed what can only be deemed one of the most dominant championship performances the IndyCar Series has ever seen, capturing his fourth career season championship with two races still left to contest before the 2025 season is complete.

Will Power, the 44-year-old veteran whose future with Team Penske is uncertain, won the Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland by 1.6 seconds over Christian Lundgaard. Power earned his 45th career win and first since last year’s Portland race.

By virtue of his third-place finish at Portland International Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 10, Palou increased his cushion over Pato O’Ward to 151 points.

O’Ward entered the weekend as Palou’s only mathematical challenger started on the pole but had a power failure after the restart on Lap 21 causing him to go eight laps down. With only a maximum of 108 points to be earned over the final two race weekends at the Milwaukee Mile (Aug. 23-24) and Nashville Superspeedway (Aug. 30-31), O’Ward no longer holds any chance to pull off what for weeks would’ve been maybe the most miraculous championship comeback the sport had seen.

A title fight the 26-year-old Mexican driver has frequently deemed ‘over’recently, always accompanied with a chuckle, is now formally so, with Palou going wire to wire for his fourth IndyCar title in five seasons, all since joining Chip Ganassi Racing for the start of the 2021 IndyCar campaign off the back of a 2020 rookie season that even days ahead of signing with CGR had left him uncertain if his career in IndyCar would last beyond a single season.

The 28-year-old Spaniard won that 2021 season opener and was off to the races, like he was this season.

Unlike that debut campaign with Ganassi, or any major American open-wheel season of any kind since A.J. Foyt’s in 1979, Palou would go on to win five of the first six races of the season, a feat matched only three times in the sport’s history (Foyt in 1964 and ’79, and Al Unser Sr. in 1971). And in only one of those spectacular seasons, Foyt’s 1964 campaign, did one of those drivers ride their early hot streak to not only an Indianapolis 500 victory as well as a championship, as Palou has now done. It’s the first time in 15 years (Dario Franchitti, 2010) that a driver has paired a championship with a chance to kiss the bricks in the same calendar year.

Still with two races left, it’s unclear whether Palou may match Foyt’s all-time series mark of 10 wins in a single season (a record matched, but not beaten, by Unser Sr. in 1970). But already with eight victories, it makes Palou’s 2025 season, and his six-year resume, already one of the best the sport has ever seen.

Palou is now just the third driver to win three consecutive championships in series history, joining Ted Horn (1946 to 1948), Sebastien Bourdais (four straight in 2004 to 2007) and Dario Franchitti (2009-11). Along with Franchitti (2007 to 2011), who won four consecutive IndyCar championships in which he competed after taking 2008 off to race in NASCAR, Bourdais and Foyt (1960 to 1964), the Ganassi driver is also one of only four to win four titles in five consecutive seasons.

The speed at which he amassed his four Astor Cups (six seasons) can only be matched by Bourdais, who captured four Champ Car championships in his first five years in the sport, albeit during the waning years of the split when his competition was a bit watered down and fragmented with drivers from Ganassi, Penske and Andretti all competing in the Indy Racing League full-time.

To boot, Palou is only the sixth driver to even hit the four titles mark, and with just one more, he’d break ties with Franchitti, Bourdais and Mario Andretti and join just Foyt and Scott Dixon as the only drivers to reach five championships in major American open-wheel racing.

Palou’s title was the 17th for Chip Ganassi Racing in 30 years. The 17 IndyCar championships tie Penske Racing for most in series history.

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook is holding in during training camp as he seeks a new contract.
Cook had a career year in 2024, rushing for 16 touchdowns and gaining 1,267 scrimmage yards.
Cook is in the final year of his rookie contract.

Sometimes there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Unfortunately for the Buffalo Bills, they don’t have any Cook at all.

Running back James Cook had a stellar season for the Bills in 2024, tallying 16 rushing touchdowns and 1,267 scrimmage yards for Buffalo.

While the recognition on the field and in headlines for Cook’s success has been plentiful, Cook feels as though that hasn’t been reciprocated in his bank account. The fourth-year running back has been an offseason hold-in as he seeks a new deal with Buffalo, one that hasn’t happened yet.

Now, the situation is still festering as preseason games get underway. Cook was dressed for Saturday’s opener vs. the New York Giants, but ended up not playing as the contract standoff continues.

Here’s the latest on Cook’s contract status and more:

James Cook contract news, updates

The third-year running back has been part of some meetings and walkthroughs, but has yet to practice during training camp with the team. He reported to mandatory mini-camp in June.

To make matters more confusing, Cook suited up for Buffalo’s preseason Week 1 matchup against the New York Giants on Aug. 9 and even went through pregame warmups, but he did not play in the game.

Following the game, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott attempted to get out in front of the situation, saying he had a good conversation with the running back in the day leading up to the game, and he was aware of Cook’s plan to suit up but not play.

‘He agreed to warm up, but not play due to his situation right now,’ McDermott said postgame. ‘So that’s where we’re at. So, no change.’

He continued: ‘I wanted him to play, but I don’t really want to go into it any further. There’s really no change at this point in time from what it was going into this weekend and the game today. … So, he warmed up like I said, but at this point, due to his situation and the position he’s in, he was not willing to play.’

Cook has been sitting out training camp practices as he looks for a new deal.

James Cook contract details

James Cook is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract, which totals $5,832,057. He will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2025 season if a deal with Buffalo is not reached.

James Cook stats

Cook put together an excellent season for the Bills in 2024. He totaled 1,009 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns, the latter a career high. He also caught two touchdown passes and amassed 258 receiving yards as part of Buffalo’s high-powered offense.

The 2025 St. Jude Championship delivered on all fronts. We saw golfers who were great all season shine. We saw some unexpected golfers finish near the top, and we saw an incredibly hot finish from Justin Rose to claim victory.

Rose birdied four of the last five holes in regulation to pull even with leader J.J. Spaun at 16-under. He then proceeded to birdie two of the three playoff holes to secure the win.

It was an incredible performance that had fans in awe whether they were in attendance in Memphis or not. Rose’s performance earned him an astonishing $3.6 million, nearly $1.5 million more than he would’ve earned had he finished in second-place.

Here’s what every golfer in the tournament earned based on their finish.

Prize Pool breakdown for 2025 St. Jude Championship:

1) Justin Rose: $3,600,000

2) J.J. Spaun: $2,165,000

T-3) Scottie Scheffler: $1,160,000

T-3) Tommy Fleetwood: $1,160,000

5) Cameron Young: $800,000

T-6) Akshay Bhatia: $670,333.33

T-6) Rickie Fowler: $670,333.33

T-6) Andrew Novak: $670,333.33

T-9) Ludvig Aberg: $501,000

T-9) Kurt Kitayama: $501,000

T-9) Patrick Cantlay: $501,000

T-9) Chris Kirk: $501,000

T-9) Ben Griffin: $501,000

T-14) Jhonattan Vegas: $361,000

T-14) Si Woo Kim: $361,000

T-14) Bud Cauley: $361,000

T-17) Hideki Matsuyama: $281,000

T-17) Russell Henley: $281,000

T-17) Sungjae Im: $281,000

T-17) Jacbo Bridgeman: $281,000

T-17) Sepp Straka: $281,000

T-22) Brian Harman: $186,166.67

T-22) Aaron Rai: $186,166.67

T-22) J.T. Poston: $186,166.67

T-22) Harry Hall: $186,166.67

T-22) Xander Schauffele: $186,166.67

T-22) Collin Morikawa: $186,166.67

T-28) Justin Thomas: $139,500

T-28) Sam Burns: $139,500

T-28) Maverick McNealy: $139,500

T-28) Taylor Pendrith: $139,500

T-32) Viktor Hovland: $111,166.67

T-32) Davis Riley: $111,166.67

T-32) Denny McCarthy: $111,166.67

T-32) Max Greyserman: $111,166.67

T-32) Kevin Yu: $111,166.67

T-32) Matt Fitzpatrick: $111,166.67

T-38) Nico Echavarria: $84,500

T-38) Patrick Rodgers: $84,500

T-38) Jordan Spieth: $84,500

T-38) Matti Schmid: $84,500

T-38) Robert MacIntyre: $84,500

T-38) Thomas Detry: $84,500

T-44) Ryan Gerard: $64,500

T-44) Keegan Bradley: $64,500

T-44) Nick Taylor: $64,500

T-44) Lucas Glover: $64,500

T-48) Stephan Jaeger: $53,900

T-48) Harris English: $53,900

T-50) Emiliano Grillo: $49,300

T-50) Corey Conners: $49,300

T-50) Cam Davis: $49,300

T-50) Ryan Fox: $49,300

T-54) Chris Gotterup: $46,800

T-54) Sam Stevens: $46,800

T-56) Mackenzie Hughes: $45,800

T-56) Jason Day: $45,800

T-56) Wyndham Clark: $45,800

T-59) Aldrich Potgeiter: $44,600

T-59) Michael Kim: $44,600

T-59) Shane Lowry: $44,600

T-62) Erik van Rooyen: $43,600

T-62) Jake Knapp: $43,600

T-64) Tom Hoge: $42,600

T-64) Brian Campbell: $42,600

T-64) Tony Finau: $42,600

67) Joe Highsmith: $41,800

T-68) Min Woo Lee: $41,200

T-68) Daniel Berger: $41,200

What is the next tournament in the FedEx Cup Playoffs?

The next leg of the 2025 FedEx Cup Playoffs will be the BMW Championship played at Caves Valley Golf Club near Baltimore, Maryland, on Aug. 14-17.

Shane van Gisbergen continues to prove he’s on a whole other level when it comes to road-course racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The Trackhouse Racing driver won the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, Aug. 10 at Watkins Glen International for his fourth victory of the season, tying Denny Hamlin for most wins this season. According to the TV broadcast on USA Network, he also became the first rookie to win four Cup races in a single season.

Van Gisbergen previously won the road-course races at Mexico City and Sonoma, as well as the street-course race in Chicago. The only non-oval race that saw a winner of than van Gisbergen was the first road race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 2, 2025. He finished sixth behind Christopher Bell.

With his fourth consecutive road-course win, van Gisbergen tied Chase Elliott for second most all time. Elliott won four in a row between 2019 and 2020. Jeff Gordon holds the record with six consecutive victories on road courses.

Bell finished second Sunday at Wakins Glen, 2024 winner Chris Buescher took third, points leader William Byron came home fourth, and Chase Briscoe took fifth.

Van Gisbergen will enter the playoffs as one of the top seeds when the postseason begins Aug. 31 at Darlington Raceway. The 10-race playoffs will feature one more non-oval race on Oct. 5 in the Bank of America ROVAL 400 on the road course/oval hybrid at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

See below for full results from Sunday’s race:

NASCAR results today: Go Bowling at The Glen

Full results from Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International (with starting position in parentheses):

(2) Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
(9) Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
(12) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
(10) William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
(3) Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
(1) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
(19) Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
(15) Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
(21) Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
(4) Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
(18) A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
(29) Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
(17) Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
(11) Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
(25) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
(13) Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
(33) Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
(8) Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
(6) Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
(7) Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
(35) Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
(5) Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
(34) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 47 Chevrolet
(28) Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
(22) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
(20) Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
(23) Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
(27) Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
(36) Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
(32) Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
(16) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
(30) John H. Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
(14) Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
(31) Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
(24) Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
(37) Katherine Legge, No. 78 Chevrolet
(39) Josh Bilicki, No. 66 Ford
(38) J.J. Yeley, No. 44 Chevrolet
(26) Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet

What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen start?

The Go Bowling at The Glen is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 10, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York.

What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen on?

The Go Bowling at The Glen will be broadcast on USA Network, the second time the Cup Series is on the channel this season. Pre-race coverage will start at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen?

Yes, the Go Bowling at The Glen will be streamed on HBO Max. The race can also be streamed on Fubo, which is offering a free trial to new subscribers.

Watch NASCAR Cup races on Fubo

How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen?

The Go Bowling at The Glen is 90 laps around the 2.450-mile road course for a total of 220.86 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 20 laps; Stage 2: 20 laps; Stage 3: 50 laps.

Who won the NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen last year?

What is the lineup for the Go Bowling at The Glen?

(Car number in parentheses)

(12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
(88) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
(19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
(1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
(8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
(71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
(48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
(77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
(20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
(24) William Byron, Chevrolet
(22) Joey Logano, Ford
(17) Chris Buescher, Ford
(2) Austin Cindric, Ford
(54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
(23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
(6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
(60) Ryan Preece, Ford
(16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
(99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
(9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
(45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
(11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
(7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet
(21) Josh Berry, Ford
(3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
(5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
(34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
(35) Riley Herbst, Toyota
(43) Erik Jones, Toyota
(42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
(41) Cole Custer, Ford
(10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
(38) Zane Smith, Ford
(47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
(4) Noah Gragson, Ford
(51) Cody Ware, Ford
(78) Katherine Legge, Chevrolet
(44) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet
(66) Josh Bilicki, Ford

The younger Sanders has received less publicity than his older brother Shedeur so far this offseason, but is making his way just fine through the NFL thus far.

Sanders made his NFL debut on Saturday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took on the Tennessee Titans in preseason action. The rookie DB notched a tackle in the 29-7 Buccaneers win – something that would surely make his Hall of Fame pops Deion Sanders proud.

Proud enough to maybe gift his game-worn jersey, right? Not so fast, says Sanders.

‘He didn’t want it (the game-worn debut jersey),’ Sanders said with a laugh. ”Cause, you know he’s a Hall of Famer. He expects like 30 times more. He didn’t want my jersey. I’m gonna give it to my mom, though.’

What about as a birthday gift? (The elder Sanders’ birthday falls on Aug. 9.)

‘Nah, he don’t want it. I gotta get like three picks or something for him to want that,’ he added with a smile.

Sanders was an undrafted free agent pickup of the Bucs this offseason. There are few better landing spots for the Colorado product than with Tampa Bay and head coach Todd Bowles, who has fostered a reputation for building up solid safety play.

Well, as the saying goes: The standard is the standard, and there’s no better standard than that of a Hall of Famer – even if you are his son.

New Orleans Saints 2025 second-round pick Tyler Shough got plenty of work in NOLA’s preseason matchup vs. the Los Angeles Chargers, playing the most out of the three quarterbacks who saw the field on Sunday.

Shough finished the matchup 15-of-22 passing for 165 yards, a touchdown and an interception, along with two sacks taken. He also threw a pick-6 to undrafted free-agent defensive back Eric Rogers on opposite sides of a ‘welcome to the NFL’ moment.

In all, it was a mixed-but-promising bag for the Louisville product. Head coach Kellen Moore seemed pretty pleased with Shough’s performance, he said after the game.

‘Great two-minute drive right before the half, I thought he did some really good things there, he felt under control,’ Moore said postgame. ‘I thought he was under control, I thought he managed the situations really, really well.’

Moore seemed pretty pleased with Shough’s ability to bounce back from the pick-6, throwing a long touchdown to Mason Tipton soon after.

‘You throw a pick, you gotta respond,’ Moore said. ‘Obviously, no one wants to throw an interception. The way he responded was really, really good. For him to come back and handle that from an emotional standpoint really well, I thought that was awesome.’

The Chargers downed the Saints, 27-13, in the matchup, and Shough’s performance might offer him a small lead in New Orleans’ wide-open quarterback competition that features Shough, Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener.

Shough finished the matchup with an 86.2 passer rating, pacing his QB room counterparts.

Tyler Shough stats vs. Chargers

Shough had a presentable performance vs. the Jim Harbaugh-coached Chargers in Week 1 of the NFL preseason. Here’s how he finished:

Completions/Attempts: 15/22
Passing yards: 165
Passing touchdowns: 1
Sacks: 2
Interceptions: 1 (pick-6)
Fumbles (lost): 0
Passer rating: 86.2
Rushing yards (attempts): 3 (1)

With nine teams in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, the Southeastern Conference is expected to once again be the crème de la crème of college football.

It’s a level, style and tradition of football that Jon Gruden appears to have his eyes set on.

Speaking in a team meeting setting to the Georgia Bulldogs during their fall camp, the now Barstool Sports media personality got the Grumors going again by expressing his continued desire to make a return to the sidelines, and specifically in the SEC.

‘The only reason I really came here is I want to coach again,’ Gruden said. ‘I’m being honest with you, I do not (expletive), either. I want to coach again. I’d die to coach in the SEC. I would love it. I would (expletive) love it.’

While Gruden just expressed interest in coaching in the SEC, it’s been some time since he last coached in the college ranks — nearly four decades to be exact, when he served as a wide receiver coach at Pitt in 1991. He began his coaching in college football as a graduate assistant at Tennessee in 1986, a position he held for two seasons before he became the Passing Game Coordinator at Division II Southeast Missouri State in 1988.

Gruden expressing his interest in coaching college football in front of Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs isn’t the first time that the soon-to-be 62-year-old has expressed these specific interests.

‘Yeah, I’m interested in coaching,’ Gruden told CBS Sports in 2024. ‘My dad was a college coach, I was a college coach at Pitt, my wife was a cheerleader at Tennessee when I met her. Hell yeah, I’m interested in coaching. I know I can help a team, I know I can help young players get better, and I know I can hire a good staff, and that’s the only thing I can guarantee. But yeah, I’m very interested in coaching at any level, period.’

The former NFL coach, who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title in 2003, has been out of coaching since 2021, when he resigned from the Las Vegas Raiders following reports that he repeatedly used homophobic and misogynistic language in a series of emails over a period of seven years.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Titans running back Tyjae Spears suffered an ankle injury in the team’s preseason opener against the Buccaneers.
Spears is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks, jeopardizing the remainder of his preseason.
The injury is a setback for Spears, who missed five games in 2024 due to various injuries.

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears suffered an ankle injury in the team’s preseason opener on Aug. 9 in the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The explosive backup running back exited the game and limped to the sideline, and ultimately had to be carted to the locker room.

The Tennessean (part of the USA TODAY Network) reports that Spears was seen leaving the stadium on crutches and wearing a walking boot on his right foot.

Spears, a 2023 third-round pick, is entering his third NFL season. He has carved out a significant role in passing situations and his absence could be detrimental to the development of No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.

Here’s the latest on the Titans’ running back’s status:

Tyjae Spears injury update

On Aug. 10, Titans head coach Brian Callahan announced that Spears will miss ‘some time’ due to the ankle injury he sustained.

‘Spears is expected to miss some time here, a couple of weeks at least,’ Callahan told reporters.

The ankle injury likely puts the rest of Spears’ preseason in jeopardy.

Spears was carted to the locker room in second quarter of the Titans’ preaseason opener after being tackled by defensive backs Rashad Wisdom and JJ Roberts. He caught a pass out of the backfield for a 13-yard gain before being taken down.

It appeared Spears’ ankle was rolled up in the process of the tackle. After testing, he was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain.

Spears had a challenging 2024 season due to multiple injuries. He suffered two concussions, a hamstring strain and an ankle sprain, which cost him five games and limited him in others.

Titans RB depth chart

The Titans have five more running backs listed on their first unofficial depth chart. Spears has been the top backup and change-of-pace option in the backfield behind starter Tony Pollard. With Spears expected to miss some time, Kalel Mullings – a day three pick from the 2025 NFL Draft – will have more opportunities.

Mullings is a converted linebacker and one of the biggest running backs in the 2025 draft class at 6-2 and 226 pounds. He doesn’t have the receiving chops that Spears possesses, with only 8 receptions for 67 yards on 14 targets in college. He will battle Julius Chestnut – another big-bodied running back – for a depth role.

Tony Pollard
Kalel Mullings
Julius Chestnut
Jordan Mims
Jermar Jefferson