The Tennessee Titans will keep using backup quarterback Marcus Mariota in the offense moving forward.
After getting benched in Week 7 in favor of Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota didn’t see the field again until Week 17 against the Houston Texans.
In that game, Mariota saw two snaps and completed one pass to wide receiver A.J. Brown for 24 yards. Coincidentally, that was also the catch that put Brown over 1,000 yards for the season.
Tennessee has put Mariota in for two snaps in trick play packages since then.
He saw one snap in the Wild Card game against the New England Patriots (he completed one pass for four yards), and he was on the field in the Divisional Round when running back Derrick Henry threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Corey Davis.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1216197437041197056
In fact, Mariota, who was in motion before the snap, was wide open on the outside and calling for the ball before Henry made his final decision to throw a jump pass to Davis.
According to head coach Mike Vrabel, the Titans plan to keep on using Mariota when they can, and there’s no doubt the coaching staff saw how open Mariota was on that play and could go to him next time around.
Vrabel said QB Marcus Mariota will continue to be involved. @Titans
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) January 13, 2020
Mariota is in the final year of his rookie contract and is likely in his last days with the Titans. It would be quite a moment if the Oregon product were to find the end zone in such a big game as the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs, a team Mariota helped Tennessee defeat in the 2017 playoffs.
Despite being benched, Mariota has done everything the right way, and he most recently aided the Titans in preparing for Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson by simulating him in practice.
Apparently it paid off, as Tennessee was able to limit the star signal-caller en route to an upset win in Baltimore.