Justin Hunter's lacerated spleen will cost him the final month of the 2014 season.
The Tennessee Titans announced Tuesday that the wide receiver has been placed on season-ending injured reserve.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday that Hunter is not expected to require surgery for the injury.
With prototypical size, speed and leaping ability, Hunter fit the profile of a talented breakout candidate entering September.
For the second straight year, though, the 2013 second-round draft pick was done in by shaky quarterback play, unreliable hands and questionable toughness.
The drop-prone Hunter has finished each of his first two seasons near the bottom of all NFL wide receivers in catch rate. Simply put, he has been one of the least effective players at his position.
It's premature to write off Hunter as a draft bust, but his inability to absorb contact and still come down with the ball at the point of the catch puts him closer to Darrius Heyward-Bey than Alshon Jeffery as far as career models go.
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