No. 8 Tennessee is set to play the rest of the season without its top wide receiver.
According to On3, Mike Matthews is likely out for the remainder of 2026 following a knee injury suffered in the Volunteers’ 22-7 win over Texas A&M. Matthews was on crutches on the sideline after the injury, which came after he had two catches for 42 yards.
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Matthews is second on the team with 39 catches. Only Braylon Staley, with 40, has more. But Matthews is the only player with over 500 receiving yards. Matthews leads the team with 608 yards and four touchdowns. Staley has 343 yards and no other Vol has more than 200.
Every other Tennessee player has combined to catch seven touchdowns.
In 2025, Matthews had 53 catches for 813 yards and four scores over 13 games. He could be an early-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, though the late-season injury may open the door further for a return to Knoxville.
Matthews’ absence is a huge loss for an offense that’s having to lean on the run game as much as it can. George MacIntyre has been Tennessee’s starter, but he was replaced by Week 1 starter Faizon Brandon because of a knee injury in the second half of the win over the Aggies.
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Through 10 games, Brandon and MacIntyre have combined to go 154-of-237 passing for 1,688 yards and 11 touchdowns with four interceptions. Both are averaging around seven yards per pass attempt.
Tennessee has a clear path to the College Football Playoff with wins over LSU and Vanderbilt in the final two weeks of the regular season. And if more teams ahead of them lose games, Tennessee could even be positioned to host a home playoff game.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
