–Quarterback Marcus Mariota celebrated his 25th birthday on Tuesday by shedding the half glove on his throwing hand.
Mariota has donned the glove since an elbow injury in the season opener at Miami caused some of the fingers in his throwing hand to go numb. Mariota missed just one game and came off the bench in another due to the injury.
Mariota said that the feeling has returned to his hand, following the nerve injury to his elbow.
“Yes. I’ve been able to practice with it (the hand without the glove). It feels good. It feels better,” Mariota said.
Mariota has had his struggles while dealing with the injury, throwing just three touchdown passes to five interceptions this season. Two of those picks came on successive passes after sustaining the injury. He was then pulled from the game in favor of Blaine Gabbert and did not play the next week in the home opener against Houston.
Of course, the injury was not the only thing to blame for Mariota’s poor numbers, as the Titans receivers have been inconsistent and ineffective at times, especially since the loss of tight end Delanie Walker.
–The Titans reached into the recent past and brought back fullback Jalston Fowler to the roster on Monday. That was not exactly the splash move Titans fans wanted to see at the trade deadline with receivers Demaryius Thomas and Golden Tate both on the move in deals. But Fowler’s return could help in the run game and as a blocker in pass protection as well.
“We have workouts a lot. We have workouts frequently, and we were looking for somebody that could maybe help us in that role, somebody that could help us run the football, help us offensively,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said. “We’ll take a look at him going forward, and if he can help us, he will get an opportunity to play.”
Fowler was a fourth-round pick by the Titans from Alabama in 2015, but was released last December. He spent time with the Seahawks on their practice squad and was in camp with the Atlanta Falcons this summer, but did not play any regular-season games with either squad.
BY THE NUMBERS: 100 – Titans linebacker Wesley Woodyard is expected to make the 100th start of his NFL career on Sunday in Dallas.
