Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota has a lot to prove as he enters the fifth and final year of his rookie deal.
He’s been mostly solid performing on the field, but is so injury prone he’s yet to play a full 16-game season since being drafted in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Last year, backup signal-caller Blaine Gabbert saw the field eight times because Mariota was so frequently sidelined.
The Touchdown Wire ranked Mariota No. 22 among all 32 of the league’s quarterbacks.
Barry Werner used Mariota’s injury history and the Titans’ less-than-impressive overall records of the past as his reasoning.
“Marcus Mariota heads into his fifth season in Tennessee and has yet to play in all 16 games,” he wrote. “His career mark as a starter is 27-28. Durability is a question and the time is now to come up with a double-digit victory season, which he has yet to do.”
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was ranked directly behind him, while the Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford was selected just ahead of him.
Not to anyone’s surprise, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady found his name at the top of the list.
Only time will tell if Mariota is the truly the team’s franchise quarterback of the future, but there’s no doubting the 2019 season will be one of the most important of the former Oregon Duck’s career.
