Marcus Mariota
This was supposed to be the year that quarterback Marcus Mariota proved he was the franchise signal-caller for the Titans. In a contract year, Mariota was surrounded by the best supporting cast he had ever seen during his career, and it wasn’t even close.
Blame who you want for not giving Mariota enough weapons in years past, but there’s no denying that the Oregon product failed to make the most of his opportunity this season. Instead of answering the bell, we saw an inaccurate, tentative quarterback who was setting the offense back on a weekly basis.
Of course, it also didn’t help that Mariota was getting let down by his offensive line, however he still wasn’t able to make plays on a consistent basis when he was given time to throw.
To magnify his issues from earlier this season, the Titans are now 3-1 with Tannehill behind center after he replaced Mariota in Week 6 in what was arguably the worst game of the former No. 2 overall pick’s career.
Since then, Tannehill has thrown for over 300 yards in two of four starts, something Mariota was only able to do once in six starts. He has also helped resurrected the Titans’ season after a Week 10 win over the Chiefs that once again displayed Tannehill’s leadership and clutch gene.
At some point, all the issues within and around Mariota broke him. He desperately needs a change of scenery and he’ll have that chance in 2020 when he becomes a free agent. I think Mariota can revive his career if given the opportunity with a team that has a system tailored to his strengths.