The Tennessee Titans had a rough start to the season. Apart from their season-opening match against the Miami Dolphins getting two lightning delays, the Titans also saw their franchise quarterback, Marcus Mariota, exit the contest with an apparent elbow injury, per Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk.
In lieu of Mariota, the Titans turned to backup Blaine Gabbert, who took over the quarterbacking chores, as the team tried to come up with an exact prognosis for the former Oregon Ducks signal-caller in the locker room.
Mariota was a victim of an apparent dirty play by Miami defensive end William Hayes earlier in the game, but managed to stay on the field. When play resumed following the second lightning delay, Mariota threw a pair of interceptions that led to his eventual exit from the contest.
Before he left, Mariota completed nine of 16 passes for 103 passing yards with zero touchdowns.
The Titans are hoping that Mariota’s injury isn’t something that’s going to force him to miss multiple games. The team just hired a new offensive coordinator in Matt LaFleur, who spent the entire offseason plotting offensive schemes that were expected to maximize the abilities of Mariota – not Gabbert, who already threw an interception in the Dolphins game.
The Titans won’t play again until next Sunday against the Houston Texans, which gives Marcus Mariota an entire week to rest and heal from his injury.