Gray clouds massed over the Waolani and Nuuanu valleys as Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota took cover inside from a steady, light drizzle.
His Motiv8 Foundation golf tournament fundraiser was scheduled to start soon at Oahu Country Club on Monday, but Mariota gave the weather a shrug.
The threatening weather, the presence of a new, accomplished backup quarterback, a big contract year and yet another offensive coordinator … there are plenty of things that could intrude on Mariota’s idyllic offseason in paradise, the longest of his pro career, as he prepares for his fifth NFL season.
Instead, as he lounged comfortably in a chair, lean, tanned and rested, Mariota maintained that the focus is strictly inward on himself. “I just have to work to be the best version of me that I can be so I can produce for my team.”
‘There are things I can’t do anything about,” Mariota said. “I don’t think about anything outside of being the best version of me. There’s no need for added pressure, no need for more concerns.”
And there are issues he can refine — getting passes off quicker and making better decisions. For him, though, the immediate Job One is getting — and staying — healthy enough to play an entire 16-game regular season, something that has so far eluded the 25-year-old Heisman Trophy winner.
He says recovery from the ulnar and other nerve issues that curtailed his 2018 season is progressing, that he is throwing the ball well and is “being smart” about his training. “I’m able to throw,” Mariota said. “The shoulder, the arm, the whole nerve issue is feeling a lot better.”
Mariota said, “At this point, I feel good. There are certain things that I have to wait on and be patient. I think some of that will have to carry over to Nashville and allow some time to get better. But when September rolls around (for the start of the regular season), I’ll be good to go.”
Mariota said he expects to be in Nashville in advance of the April 15 reporting date, to better acquaint himself to the latest round of changes. He will be working with his third new offensive coordinator (former tight ends coach Arthur Smith) in as many seasons and will welcome his fourth understudy (Ryan Tannehill) at the quarterback position in five seasons as well as free-agent acquisitions at receiver (Adam Humphries) and on the offensive line (Rodger Saffold).
Unlike the 35-year-old Matt Cassel, the backup of two years ago, marginal Blaine Gabbert of last season or lightly experienced Zach Mettenberger in his rookie season, the new one, Tannehill, is both fairly young (30) and experienced (88 appearances) and was himself once envisioned as a franchise quarterback.
The eighth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by Miami, Tannehill comes to the Titans via a trade with the Dolphins, touted as insurance at quarterback.
General manger Jon Robinson has said he laid out to Tannehill that the role would be as a backup, a point he also said he underlined with Mariota.
“I had a (phone) conversation with Ryan and I thought it was a great one,” Mariota said. “It seems like he is going to be a great teammate, somebody that is supportive.”
At an uber competitive position in a production business, Mariota said, “No matter what, as an athlete, you want to be pushed. This is an opportunity for all of us to be competitive in an environment where we can get better.”
A strong, healthy showing this year could bring Mariota, who would be an unrestricted free agent in 2020, a lucrative, long-term contract offer.
Mariota said, “I’m trying to focus on what I can do to improve myself, physically and mentally, and be the best version of me that I can be and, then, let the other things fall where they may.”
Whether they be raindrops, changes or contract status that will surround him in 2019.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4920.
