Titans return man Marc Mariani suffers broken tibia against Cardinals

Mariani makes his way to the locker room after suffering a fractured tibia in Thursday's preseason game. (AP)

It looks like the Titans will be without return man Marc Mariani for a while. The third-year player out of the University of Montana suffered a left tibia fracture during a first-quarter punt return in Thursday's Tennessee-Arizona preseason game.

Mariani appeared to suffer the injury while being tackled on the 14-yard return. He stayed down for several minutes and left the field on a cart with his left leg mobilized. Mariani waved to the crowd as he made his way to the locker room. Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt, who didn't dress for the game, appeared to offer words of encouragement as Mariani passed the bench area, as did punter Brett Kern and kicker Rob Bironas. According to ESPN's Rachel Nichols, Mariani was headed directly to the hospital.

When the Cardinals punted later in the quarter, Darius Reynaud was deep for the Titans.

In two seasons, Mariani averaged 24.8 yards per kick return and 11.2 yards per punt return. The 2010 seventh-round pick played in college with the son of former Titans coach Jeff Fisher.

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