The last time we saw Marcus Mariota on a football field, he was being carted off with a broken leg, and with him the Titans chance at a playoff berth.
But Tuesday, even though it was in a limited capacity, he was back on the fields as the Titans began their Organized Team Activities, which was a welcome surprise.
“It felt great,” Mariota said, via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. “Four months ago I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to participate in OTAs and being able to do some of the drills through practice, it [says] a lot about my progress and my recovery. I was very happy and very grateful to be out there.”
The Titans had pledged to take things slowly with Mariota, and he mostly watched during the “team” portion of work. But he did some walk-through and positional drills and a bit of seven-on-seven.
“I know he’d like to do more, he looks like he can do more, but it’s May,” Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. “We’ve got lots of time.”
Mariota had a plate installed to repair the damage suffered on Christmas Eve, at a time when the Titans had a shot at the AFC South. And if he can stay healthy, the strides they made as a team may help remind people that Nashville is something other than a hockey town now.