Marcus Mariota talks about his new role in Titans offense
Tennessee Titans backup quarterback Marcus Mariota spoke about his new but limited role on the team’s offense.
Over the last three games, Tennessee Titans backup quarterback Marcus Mariota has gotten a grand total of four snaps.
He saw two in Week 17 against the Houston Texans, one in the wild card game against the New England Patriots and one against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.
Now, that might not seem like a lot, but it’s significant for a guy like Mariota who was benched in Week 7 and didn’t see a single snap for 10 games.
Against the Texans, Mariota completed one pass for 24 yards to wide receiver A.J. Brown that put the rookie over the 1,000-yard mark on the season.
Most recently, Mariota was on the field for running back Derrick Henry‘s touchdown pass to wide receiver Corey Davis against the Ravens. In fact, Mariota, who was in motion on the play, was wide open on the outside and would have had an easy touchdown had Henry thrown it his way.
https://twitter.com/Titans/status/1216197676221464577
When asked about his role on Thursday, the Oregon product had this to say, per Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press.
"“It’s different for me for sure, but I appreciate the fact that I get to be out there with the guys,” Mariota said. “Every single time, every single moment that you’re on the field I never take it for granted.”"
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel made it clear last week that Mariota will continued to be involved in the offense.
Mariota has also been a huge help off the field since his benching.
He simulated Lamar Jackson in practice last week to help the Titans prepare for the Ravens, and starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill has raved about Mariota’s professionalism and how much he has helped in preparing for games.
Mariota will be a free agent in the offseason and is almost certainly going to be leaving Nashville, but that’s not something he’s really thinking about right now.
"“If I can just be present here and help our guys out, help this team out, everything else will fall into place,” Mariota said."
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The Titans will look to advance to Super Bowl LIV with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship on Sunday, and based on what we’ve seen of late, there’s a good chance Mariota will see at least one play in that game.