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The Tennessee Titans were eliminated by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Round and everyone began to wonder what the future holds for Marcus Mariota. Less than 24 hours after the loss, Mike Vrabel spoke about the conversation he had with Mariota per Jim Wyatt.
Vrabel on Mariota: Talked to him this morning and told him how proud he is with how he handled everything this season. Said he's a great leader, and he improved.@Titans
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) January 20, 2020
Before the 2018 season, the Titans exercised Mariota's fifth-year option for the 2019 season. Therefore, the franchise went into the 2019 season with the expectation that Mariota would remain as the starting quarterback moving forward.
For the first six weeks of the season, the former first-round pick was leading the way at quarterback. However, with the Titans being 2-4 and Mariota not playing exceptionally well, Vrabel chose to turn to Ryan Tannehill under center.
In Mariota's six starts, he completed only 59.6 percent of his attempts for 1,203 yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions. Then, once the team replaced him with Tannehill, Tennessee's season took a turn for the best.
With Tannehill, the Titans ended the season at 9-7 and were able to sneak into the playoffs. Additionally, Tannehill's resurgence at the quarterback position was one of the biggest storylines of the season.
Now, after being sent home in the postseason, the Titans will have to make a choice between Tannehill or Mariota. Both veteran quarterbacks are unrestricted free agents and Tennessee doesn't have many better options.
Without a doubt, the season didn't go as planned for Mariota. At the same time, he handled his benching remarkably and will likely receive some interest in free agency from other teams. But provided what Vrabel told Mariota, it appears that his days in Tennessee are numbered.
