After suffering an MCL sprain Sunday against the New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota has been shut down for the rest of the season, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.
Titans shut down Marcus Mariota for the rest of the season
Mariota had a promising rookie season, but Zach Mettenberger will lead the way for the Titans in the final two weeks.
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The Titans invested the second overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft in Mariota, and they have plenty of game film to look at and build on throughout the offseason. Mariota played in 12 games this season and gave the Titans more than enough to work with. Zach Mettenberger getting a couple starts to close out the season won’t hurt anything, since they are only competing for pride and draft position at this point.
The Titans have a lot of positives to take away from Mariota’s rookie season. His season got off to a great start when he outshone first overall pick Jameis Winston in the season opener by tossing four touchdowns without an interception, while Winston tossed a couple bad interceptions. It was one of the more impressive rookie debuts in NFL history.
In his first season, Mariota played in 12 games and completed 62.2 percent of his passes for 2,818 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He did have issues with fumbles, putting the ball on the ground 10 times and losing six of them. With throwing, rushing and receiving touchdowns and lost fumbles, Mariota has 22 touchdowns and 16 turnovers.
His stats would have been better if he’d had more weapons on offense, with tight end Delanie Walker being the only player with more than 550 receiving yards. Mariota didn’t have the most stable situation to play in, either. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt was fired, with Mike Mularkey taking over in the interim.
But Mariota had some excellent performances this year, throwing for three or more touchdowns on four different occasions. On the other hand, he was also held without a touchdown pass in four games he started, not counting Sunday’s game in which he left early.
He’s also pretty good at running touchdowns in, and even tried his hand at wide receiver this year. Mariota has benefited from a bit of luck this season as well, and he freely admitted that.
Mettenberger has played in five games this season, completing 69 of 102 passes for 663 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions.
The Titans have lost five of their last six games, including their last two, and will close the season with a pair of tough divisional games against the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. Those two teams are battling it out for the AFC South crown, and putting a hobbled Mariota on the field would accomplish nothing. Tennessee is 3-11 and in line for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
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