The Tennessee Titans entered the 2014 NFL Draft knowing that Jake Locker was probably a first-round bust. A head coaching change had just occurred with Ken Whisenhunt replacing Mike Munchak. With Locker on his last legs as a quarterback, the Titans selected former LSU signal-caller Zach Mettenberger with a sixth-round pick.
Despite starting the season 1-0, the Titans would quickly struggle and disaster would strike. The oft-injured Locker suffered a wrist injury in Week 3 and a thumb injury in Week 5. Nursing a 2-5 record near midseason, Whisenhunt made the decision to bench Locker in favor of the rookie Mettenberger.
That's when Mettenberger would embark on the most embarrassing stint in Titans quarterback history.
How Zach Mettenberger once made Will Levis look like Steve McNair
Mettenberger would start six games for the Titans throughout his rookie campaign. The Titans would lose all six contests. Mettenberger threw eight touchdowns, seven interceptions, and 1,412 passing yards that year.
Locker would retire that coming offseason following the expiration of his rookie contract. With Mettenberger not showing enough to be the future solution at quarterback, the Titans drafted Marcus Mariota at No. 2 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately for Titans fans, they'd be forced to watch Mettenberger again.
In the midst of another difficult campaign in Tennessee, Whisenhunt was fired just 1.5 seasons into his five-year contract. Despite showing occasional promise as a rookie, Mariota would suffer a late-season injury that thrust Mettenberger back into the lineup. The sixth-round quarterback appeared in seven total contests, making four starts as a sophomore.
The Titans again went winless under Mettenberger, and his personal statistics would also regress. He thew for four touchdowns and seven interceptions while seeing his yards per attempt average plummet to a pathetic 5.9.
The Titans would release Mettenberger that coming offseason and he'd never appear in another NFL game. He played for the then-San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers, but never rose above being a backup quarterback. Mettenberger later played for the Memphis Express of The Spring League.
All in all, Mettenberger concluded his Titans career 0-10 as a starter and having thrown more interceptions (14) than touchdowns (12). His short-lived stint is arguably the worst in franchise history, as the Nashville-based club went a combined 5-27 throughout his two seasons on the roster. Mettenberger's win percentage as the Titans' starter was a franchise-worse .000.
Mettenberger will always be remembered in Nashville for all the wrong reasons.