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The Marcus Mariota debate took on some new information this morning regarding his injury status at the end of the season. The Titans’ quarterback sat out of the regular season finale with a playoff spot on the line, leading to some hot takes and frankly unfair criticism of Mariota.
Those that lit into Mariota for sitting during that game should probably rethink their stance today.
Paul Kuharsky reported this morning that Mariota’s situation was much worse than what we thought. In addition to the nerve issue in his elbow, Mariota dealt with this laundry list of injuries last season, according to Kuharsky.
- Cracked vertebra
- “Significant” tear of the plantar fascia in his foot.
- Strained oblique
- Broken rib
- Sprained AC shoulder joint
All of that coming on top of the nerve issue, which happened during week one against Miami and lingered throughout the entire year. The nerve injury flared up once again in week 16, causing him to miss the key matchup against the Colts.
With this new knowledge, it’s tough to imagine anyone inside the organization actually wanting him to take the field against the Colts.
The Mariota debate is exhausting. It’s 100 percent fine to be frustrated by his durability, but I’m not sure it’s fair to question his toughness with this new information. At some point, he’s going to have to put it all together — we just haven’t seen that since the 2016 season.
Mariota has one last shot to put the pieces together this season, which is all that really matters. Hopefully his body cooperates with him and he actually gets the chance to do that. If it doesn’t, the Titans will likely have no choice but to move on.