So many (all?) NFL teams hinge their chances of success on the health of their starting quarterback. The Tennessee Titans are no different. Which makes the Marcus Mariota situation hugely important to the Titans’ chances of winning the up-for-grabs AFC South.
Mariota is officially inactive for Tennessee’s Week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins. Thus, the question now is when Mariota will return to the lineup.
#Titans QB Marcus Mariota is officially inactive. Matt Cassel gets the start vs the #Dolphins.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 8, 2017
Hostage to the Hammy
Mariota’s inactive status may become a running theme for the Titans over the next few weeks. Hamstring injuries – as the Titans’ signal-caller has – can be tricky. For Tennessee, it’s a delicate scale to balance. They would obviously want Mariota back as soon as possible, but hamstring injuries tend to linger, only healing with extended rest. If rushed back, one small tweak or awkward move could result in a case of doing more harm than good and put Mariota (and the Titans) back at square one with even less time on the NFL schedule to heal in time for a Tennessee playoff push.
Regardless of how long Marcus Mariota is out, it’s likely he won’t be back to full health until next season. Even if he’s able to play next week, it’s a limiting (but not devastating) injury. Though any timetable regarding Mariota being back in uniform should probably include several more weeks on the sideline.
Titans rookie wide receiver Corey Davis, the team’s first-round pick, is also dealing with a hamstring injury. Davis isn’t expected to return for quite a while.
What’s going on with Corey Davis? Sounds like he might miss 7-8 weeks due to a tweaked hammy? Titans could really use him.
— Ian Kenyon (@IanKenyonNFL) October 8, 2017
In his third season since being taken with the second overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, Mariota has yet to play a full 16-game season. Last year, he started 15 of 16 games but had his season ended with a pretty serious broken fibula. That injury required a plate to be surgically inserted in his leg. (Coincidentally, that leg injury occurred in a game against the Dolphins, who the Titans play Sunday in Mariota’s first game out.)
For his professional career, Mariota has a 92.1 QB Rating to go with a 61.4 completion percentage and an average of 227 yards per game. Mariota has thrown 48 career touchdown passes against 22 interceptions.
The hamstring injury is especially concerning for Mariota since he relies so much on his legs to not only run but create more time to throw. On the ground, he has 717 rushing yards in his time with the Titans and seven rushing touchdowns.
Marcus Mariota’s Replacement(s)
With Mariota out, the Titans now turn to journeyman backup Matt Cassel. They also have recently-signed Brandon Weeden on the roster at quarterback.
As for the rest of the Tennessee Titans roster, their Week 5 inactives (besides Mariota) are: WR Darius Jennings, CB Kalan Reed, S Johnathan Cyprien, G Corey Levin, WR Corey Davis, and LB Kevin Dodd.
