VIDEO: Marcus Mariota Taking Snaps at WR and Catching Passes From Ryan Tannehill Makes Us Feel Weird
By Sean Facey
Marcus Mariota: franchise...wide receiver? 2019 has been less than friendly to the Tennessee Titans' former No. 2 overall pick, and as a result he was relegated to clipboard duty in favor of Ryan Tannehill. Now that the Titans are winning with Tannehill, Mariota's path back to the starting role is becoming more difficult. And in a surprising revelation, the former Heisman Trophy winner was spotted taking snaps at wide receiver during Titans practice.
Now that just doesn't feel right.
Although Mariota possesses excellent speed, he's never played wide receiver in his career, and it's hard to imagine the injury-prone quarterback faring much better at a new position.
We've seen college quarterbacks enter the NFL as wide receivers, with players like Braxton Miller, Terrelle Pryor, Randall Cobb and even Julian Edelman serving as examples. However, none of the aforementioned players logged three full seasons as a starting quarterback in the league before making the transition to wideout.
He could still prove to be a valuable asset to the Titans in this new role, should they even deploy him on the field at wideout. Utilizing Mariota in a Taysom Hill-type role could be a possibility, but we'll have to wait and see what Mike Vrabel pulls out of his sleeve come game time.
Mariota's days under center in Tennessee seem to be at an end, barring an injury, and if this practice clip is anything to go by, the Titans may try to utilize him in a unique role going forward.