Titans benching Mariota for Tannehill at QB
NASHVILLE, TENN.>> The Tennessee Titans want to jump-start an offense that has just one touchdown over the past 10 quarters, so they’re turning to veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill and benching Marcus Mariota. At least for Sunday. “We’re trying to get a little spark, trying to evaluate what we’re doing and how we’re functioning as an offense,” coach Mike Vrabel said Wednesday.
Tannehill, the eight-year veteran with 88 career starts for Miami, will make his first Tennessee start against the Chargers (2-4). “I just felt like now was the time ...,” Vrabel said. Not that Mariota, the No. 2 pick overall in 2015 and 2014 Heisman Trophy winner, is benched for the final 10 games left on his $20.9 million contract.
“I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Vrabel said of Mariota starting again this season. “This is a decision that we made for this week. We’re going to need Marcus in some form or fashion throughout the season, but I think the most important thing is this week.”
Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said they will be preparing for both quarterbacks. He coached against Tannehill when he was in the AFC East and noted that Tannehill played against the Chargers a couple years ago too.
“He’s a good player,” Lynch said of Tannehill. “He can move around, create, throw the ball.”
Vrabel didn’t make the move to bench Mariota in a vacuum.
The second-year head coach said controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk, general manager Jon Robinson and other coaches were part of the decision. The Titans (2-4) have scored just 98 points through six games — and the defense, the NFL’s No. 5 scoring unit, contributed an interception return for a touchdown to that total.
Now Tannehill is getting his shot after being acquired from Miami in March via trade, a move originally made to upgrade the backup QB position. The eight-year veteran has a career quarterback rating of 87 and has 20,578 yards passing with 123 touchdowns and 76 interceptions. The eighth overall pick out of Texas A&M in 2012, Tannehill is being paid $1.75 million under a one-year deal.
“It’s been a little while since I was a starter right? Almost half a year?” Tannehill said. “But it’s nothing new for me to go out and play football. It’s what I love to do. I love competing ... and being on the field. So nothing new, just different colors.”
Tannehill was 13 of 16 for 144 yards with one interception on 30 snaps coming off the bench in the 16-0 loss in Denver. He also was sacked four times and now has been sacked 252 times in his career.
The Titans have allowed an NFL-worst 29 sacks despite an offensive line they have heavily invested in.
Ramsey ‘overjoyed’ by LA move
THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF. >> The Los Angeles Rams fully understand the risks they took in acquiring volatile cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
The defending NFC champions believe the potential rewards are well worth it.
“You want guys with some swag, some personality,” coach Sean McVay said Wednesday while he awaited the star cornerback’s arrival at their training complex. “As long as those guys love football, they love competing every single day, I think this is a building that will suit him well.”
Ramsey flew to the West Coast on Wednesday, a day after Los Angeles traded two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder for an elite defender whose tumultuous tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t last four full seasons.
On his Uninterrupted podcast on SiriusXM’s app, Ramsey pronounced himself “overjoyed” to be with the Rams, and eager to “show them that they got the best corner in the whole NFL for years and years to come.”
The Rams are sold on Ramsey’s talent — and convinced of their own ability to channel it into a big role on a winning team. General manager Les Snead said he has already spoken to Ramsey’s representatives about his future beyond his current contract, which ends in 2020, and that both sides were encouraged by the conversation.
“We actually did talk to his representatives and give our long-term view, and (get) his,” Snead said. “We did put a little bit of a timeline in place. I don’t want to give too many details on that, but we’re just meeting Jalen today. He has earned a chance to probably get a nice contract for the job he does and the position he plays.”
Ramsey agrees, as he demonstrated in July when he showed up to training camp with the Jaguars in an armored bank truck. The Rams have time to figure out a number that works for both — but they have less time to turn around a season that has stalled.
McVay is hopeful Ramsey will play Sunday at Atlanta when the Rams (3-3) attempt to end their first three-game losing streak since 2016, although the corner will need a medical exam first. Ramsey missed the Jaguars’ last three games with a back injury but returned to practice recently.