Titans hope to have Mariota back at practice this week

After playing without quarterback Marcus Mariota in Sunday's 10-7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the Tennessee Titans are hopeful the rookie will be able to resume practicing this week.

Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt said the team will assess if Mariota is ready to return to the practice field after the quarterback sprained his MCL in Tennessee's Oct. 18 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

“Right now he is doing well. We are going to see tomorrow kind of where he is and that will give us an idea going forward about practicing,’’ Whisenhunt said, per the team's official website. “Like you guys saw last week, walking around, everything looks good. It is just some of the football stuff you want to make sure we are OK with.

“We certainly want to make sure he is OK before he goes back on the field.”

Zach Mettenberger started in place of Mariota in Sunday's loss to the Falcons, completing 22-of-35 passes for 187 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.