Tennessee Titans have good news and bad news with Derrick Henry, Jeffery Simmons injury updates

Two of the Tennessee Titans' most consequential players came out of Sunday's overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts with injury designations, bringing into questions their status for the upcoming game against the Miami Dolphins and beyond.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel provided updates on their status Monday. Here is the latest on what Vrabel said about running back Derrick Henry and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.

Running back Derrick Henry

Henry was removed from Sunday's game to be evaluated for a concussion. The team athletic trainers and independent doctors deemed Henry unfit to return at the time, but Vrabel said Henry is "doing great" and has "zero symptoms" as of Monday morning.

"He's not in the protocol as of now," Vrabel said. "But we will monitor how he's feeling and any symptoms that may come up just like we would do with any player. As of now he's doing great and that's great news for any player."

Vrabel said he checked in on Henry Sunday night and Monday morning. He said since Henry is reporting zero symptoms it will be tough to put him in the protocol but he'll continue to be monitored throughout the week to make sure no symptoms arise.

Henry posted his third 100-yard game of the season in Sunday's loss despite exiting with to be checked for a concussion early in the fourth quarter. He's the NFL's second-leading rusher this season behind San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey and his eight rushing touchdowns are the seventh-most in the NFL.

Henry has never missed a game due to a concussion as a professional. He missed nine games in the 2021 season with a Jones fracture in his right foot but has only missed three other games in his career, and only two for injury.

Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons

Simmons will miss "a couple weeks" with the knee injury he sustained in the third quarter Sunday and has already been ruled out for the game against the Dolphins on Dec. 11, per Vrabel. Simmons briefly re-entered Sunday's game after sustaining the injury but, as Vrabel explained, deemed he wasn't able to play to his full strength and removed himself from the game.

"I think he really did everything that he could and even made a play," Vrabel said. "He just wasn't going to be able to do anything. And if you can't protect yourself out there, nobody wants to put a player in harm's risk. We're going to trust Jeff to say when he can go and when he can't."

Simmons has 10 tackles for loss, tied for most on the Titans, and 5.5 sacks, tied for second-most on the Titans, this season. Among all NFL interior defensive linemen this season, Simmons has registered the fifth-most quarterback pressures and the seventh-most tackles on run plays. He has been a second-team All Pro each of the last two seasons.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Derrick Henry is 'doing great' but another Tennessee Titans star will miss time