Demotion is never an easy thing to handle for an NFL quarterback.
But Tennessee Titans signal-caller Marcus Mariota handled being benched in favor of Ryan Tannehill better than many would have.
The team removed Mariota from the starting lineup in Week 6’s loss to the Denver Broncos and never looked back, officially naming Tannehill the starter in Week 7.
Marcus is an incredible human being, and I have so much respect and love for him,” Tannehill said in a report from the Titans’ Jim Wyatt. “The way he handled things – it was an incredibly tough situation. He was in Tennessee for five years, and it was his team and where he made his home. The way things went down, I don’t think many guys in the world would handle it the way he did. He handed it like a true professional. He was supportive of me from Day One. I know he was hurting, and I tried to be empathetic with that throughout the season and give support to him as well. But he handled it so well – he was supportive of me, helped me out on game days, in preparation during the week. He was just a consistent guy throughout the year.”
The future for both Tannehill and Mariota with the Titans remains unclear, but there’s a high chance the former will receive an extension while the latter will pursue a starting position elsewhere.
It’s likely the end of an era for the Titans and Mariota, who was selected by Tennessee as the second overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
But if one thing is for sure, it’s that Mariota and Tannehill have each other’s backs regardless of how things play out down the line for both quarterbacks.
“I know he has big things in front of him in his career,” Tannehill said. “and I’ll be cheering him on every step of the way.”
