Titans have a lot to lose if Mariota stays in the game

The good news eight months ago was that Marcus Mariota was taken as the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

The bad news was there was a reason, several of them, really, why the Tennessee Titans were able to have that high of a pick.

The Titans were and still are, at 3-11, a bad team.

So there is little surprise that they have been unable to protect their franchise player, who is wearing another knee brace — on the right knee his time. Mariota is sidelined with a strained medial collateral ligament after a running back failed to block the linebacker who took Mariota down Sunday.

The wonder would be if the Titans, who have pledged to hold Mariota out of Sunday’s game, actually deign to play him in next week’s Jan. 3 regular-season finale against Indianapolis.

But being the Titans all things are possible.

Coach Mike Mularkey on Monday refuted several media reports that Mariota was done for the season. Mularkey said Mariota’s availability would be re-evaluated next week.

The question is: Why?

The Titans are going nowhere and there is little to be gained by tossing Mariota into a meaningless, play-out-the-string game.

Mularkey, who is the interim head coach, isn’t likely to be staying. It should be remembered that he got the job when the Titans fired Ken Whisenhunt, who played Mariota through the first knee injury, drawing the wrath of fans and management.

Actually, there is quite a bit to be lost by playing Mariota. The last thing Tennessee needs is getting him dinged up, or worse. And, then, there is the prospect on losing out on a higher draft pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. At the moment the Titans and Browns are running neck and neck for the worst record.

You’d like to think the Titans, who are tied with San Francisco for the most sacks given up this season, 49, could use the selection to improve the offensive line. Or, perhaps, find another playmaker at wide receiver. Maybe a running back who gets yards and can block.

Mariota has been sacked 38 times and Titan quarterbacks get taken down, on average, once every 9.6 pass attempts.

Which is something Mariota’s replacement, Zach Mettenberger, probably doesn’t wish to ponder in a week when the Titans play Houston and J.J. Watt.

But, as the Titans have proven time and again at a variety of positions, merely having a high draft pick does not guarantee a successful one.

Take, for example the number of quarterbacks they have gone through before Mariota.

Or tackle Jeremiah Poutasi, the Titans’ third-round pick this year. He was benched twice in the first four games for poor performance and has been replaced by Byron Bell, who moved over from left guard, and Joe Looney, a mid-season acquisition.

Come training camp next summer you can expect the Titans to have not only a new line but a new coach.

They don’t want to have cause to be looking for another quarterback, too.

One stupid decision and they could be in the market for a new franchise quarterback.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.