Knee injury knocks Titans’ Marcus Mariota out of game vs. Patriots

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota was forced out of Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots with a right knee injury.

With four-plus minutes gone in the second quarter and the Titans trailing 14-0, Mariota was sacked by Jamie Collins, as Collins ran unblocked through the left side of the Tennessee line (B gap). Mariota appeared to see Collins out of the corner of his eye and ducked, which caused Collins to land more on top of him. Mariota’s right knee bent awkwardly under him.

At the time, Mariota was 3-for-6 for 32 yards, but had also been strip-sacked by the Patriots’ Chandler Jones; the loose ball was scooped up by Akiem Hicks, who scored.

Earlier this season, Mariota missed two games due to an MCL sprain in his left knee after a hit from the Dolphins’ Olivier Vernon.

With Tennessee headed for its 11th loss of the season, should they consider shutting Mariota down? Clearly the Titans are going nowhere this season, and will very likely be in the market for a new head coach after firing Ken Whisenhunt earlier this year and naming Mike Mularkey interim coach. It’s probably in the team’s best interest to let Zach Mettenberger finish out the string and let Mariota get healthy. And if Mettenberger plays decently, maybe the Titans can get something for him; it’s not like there’s a surplus of decent quarterbacks in the NFL right now.