Fitzpatrick facing yet another former team

Garoppolo expected to get a little more time; Raiders, Rams waiting on holdouts

Ryan Fitzpatrick has been in the NFL long enough, and been with so many different teams, that the quarterback has plenty of experience of playing somewhere in a different uniform.

Coming back to Tennessee is a bit easier thanks to such a short stint with the Titans.

“When I was here, it was such a blur because really it was just a year,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’d just got released from Buffalo and was only here for a quick time. So they’ve done a really nice job with it. It’s almost unrecognizable with some of the stuff and how it’s changed so quickly.”

Fitzpatrick went 3-6 filling in for Jake Locker in 2013. That was three coaches and a handful of quarterbacks ago for Tennessee with Fitzpatrick with his third team since then.

Making the return visit more enjoyable is Fitzpatrick is expected to start a second straight preseason game Saturday night for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay will be without Jameis Winston for the first three games of the season, suspended after the NFL investigated an allegation Winston groped a female Uber driver in Arizona in March 2016.

Tennessee will start Marcus Mariota, the quarterback drafted No. 2 overall in 2015 after Tampa Bay selected Winston. Mariota is on his third head coach in Mike Vrabel, who will make his home debut tonight. Mariota is busy learning offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur’s offense and wants to follow up the touchdown drive he had in their opener at Green Bay.

“If we can go out there, operate at a high tempo, operate where everybody’s on the same page, we’re all communicating, being efficient, that will be definitely success,” Mariota said.

What to look for around the league today: Jimmy G and Deandre: Jimmy Garoppolo’s exhibition debut for the 49ers lasted one drive with a few off-target passes and no points. He could get a little more time against Houston after two days of joint practices with the Texans showing him a different style of defense than he usually sees in practice.

“I think it was good. A lot of different looks that we’re not used to getting,” he said. “They run a different defense than what we’re used to so it got our guys thinking and I think we handled it very well.”

Houston star receiver DeAndre Hopkins missed most of the first of two practices with the 49ers after being kicked out for his role in a scuffle with Jimmie Ward. In his return, he reveled in competing against four-time Pro Bowl player Richard Sherman and hopes to get more work in against him tonight.

“It’s always good to up against a veteran guy because he can tell your weaknesses, he’s going to tell you after what you need to work on,” Hopkins said. “So, going up against guys like that, it helps me stay on top of my game.” Holdout bowl: When the Raiders return to their old home at the L.A. Coliseum for the first time in nearly 24 years to face the Rams in an exhibition game, both teams will have key pieces missing.

Oakland edge rusher Khalil Mack and Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, the winners of the past two AP Defensive Player of the Year awards, both are staging contract holdouts as they seek lucrative long-term deals.

That gives both teams opportunities to see what kind of pass rush they can get without the two stars. The Raiders were pleased with the inside push rookies P.J. Hall and Maurice Hurst supplied in the exhibition opener against Detroit last week.

The game marks the Raiders’ first game at the Coliseum since losing 19-9 to Kansas City on Dec. 24, 1994. The Raiders spent 13 seasons at the Coliseum before returning to Oakland in 1995, winning the Super Bowl following the 1983 season.

Rams coach Sean McVay is expected to hold out quarterback Jared Goff, running back Todd Gurley and most key playmakers for a second straight game. Cousins’ Minnesota debut: The previous time the Vikings suited up at U.S. Bank Stadium, they beat the New Orleans Saints in their playoff game on Stefon Diggs’ last-play touchdown catch from Case Keenum. Kirk Cousins watched that one from home, in awe and disbelief like everyone else, not yet knowing Minnesota was the place he would wind up.

Now Cousins, who signed a three-year, $84 million, fully guaranteed contract, will put on his new purple jersey in front of Minnesota’s fans for the first time. He is expected to play more than one series after being perfect in the Vikings’ exhibition opener last week at Denver.

“The little bit I’ve been there, it’s a great facility,” Cousins said. “I’m just so excited to hear the crowd and go through warmups and just get a feel for the game-day dynamic. I’m sure it’s going to be second to none in the NFL.”