Titans: Marcus Mariota reacts to debunked rumor he’s going on IR
A now debunked rumor had Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota being placed on Injured Reserve by the team.
In what was otherwise a boring NFL trade deadline day, one rumor involving Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota set off a firestorm on Twitter.
The Football & Other F Words podcast claimed it had a source that said Mariota was going to be placed on Injured Reserve because of an injury he had suffered during the second preseason game against the New England Patriots.
BREAKING NEWS(Yes, This is Real):
— Football & Other F Words (@FWordsPod) October 29, 2019
Sources close to the situation tell me that former starting #Titans QB Marcus Mariota is heading to IR with an Injury that he sustained in the Pre-Season game against the Patriots.
More details will come as we get them.
We here at Titan Sized thought about running with that, but thankfully we did not and waited for some kind of confirmation. As it turns out, the rumor would later be debunked entirely.
Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky refuted the report, saying there was no truth to the rumor, according to his sources.
Marcus Mariota is NOT heading to IR. Doubly sourced. #Titans
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) October 29, 2019
The podcast later had to retract its report, stating that its source had been incorrect.
Unfortunately, our 1 source seems to be incorrect. This is definitely why we should've triple sourced.
— Football & Other F Words (@FWordsPod) October 29, 2019
We apologize, this was not meant to be misleading or a troll.
We were told by what we deemed was a reliable source that he was heading to IR.
Shit Happens. We'll Do Better. https://t.co/gUdrTMu1jf
Before practice on Wednesday, John Glennon of The Athletic asked Mariota himself if he had heard about the rumor that went around on Tuesday and what he thought about it.
FWIW, had a brief chat today with #Titans' Mariota about yesterday's Internet speculation he was headed to IR: pic.twitter.com/QQMB0WRjP1
— John Glennon (@glennonsports) October 30, 2019
Here’s how the exchange went.
"Glennon: “Were you aware of yesterday’s internet rumor that you were headed to IR, and if so, what did you make of it?”Mariota: “I’m here. I’m here to do my job and help my team however I can.”Glennon: Are you healthy?Mariota: “Yeah, I feel good.”Glennon: “Was there ever a situation where you thought you might be headed to IR?”Mariota: “I wouldn’t say that. I take it one day at a time and focus on what I can do and what I can control.”"
So, there we have it. Mariota is healthy and he has no plans on going to IR, nor did he ever have plans on going to IR.
Mariota will remain the backup quarterback to Ryan Tannehill, who will look to lead the Titans over the Carolina Panthers in Week 9.