Jake Locker Cleared For Contact

Munchak said Locker has been cleared for contact. #Titans

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) October 17, 2013

Munchak said Locker did more reps in team drills today. Still hasn't ruled Locker out for Sunday's game #Titans

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) October 17, 2013

So what do you do if you're Mike Munchak?

The team has been in a slide ever since Locker went down with a hip as well as knee sprain during the third quarter of the Jets game. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been less than stellar, and although he has played some good defenses, he's missed a lot of throws on the field and what's worse, turned the ball over.

The Titans could fall below .500 if they lose to the 49ers this weekend making the climb after the bye all the more difficult. What could be worse, however, is if Locker plays before fully healed and re-injures or worsens what could have been fully healed after the bye week.

A healthy Locker obviously gives the Titans the best chance to win on Sunday, but I wonder if rushing him back could stifle the progress he's made this season.

Let's not forget that this will be Brian Schwenke's first game at center as well in the NFL. I personally like the idea of Schwenke getting his first live action without the franchise's future directly behind him.

Balancing the risk/reward in this situation is one of the reasons the coaches get paid to make the tough decisions. So what would you do?