Titans' Marcus Mariota: Recovering from numerous injuries

Mariota (neck) dealt with a slew of injuries that flew under the radar in 2018, including a sprained AC joint in his shoulder, a cracked vertebra, a strained oblique, a broken rib and a significant tear of the plantar fascia in his foot, Paul Kuharsky of 104.5 The Zone Nashville reports.

In addition to the issues that largely went unnoticed, Mariota missed Week 2 with an ulnar nerve injury in his throwing arm and Week 17 with a neck stinger. While yet to play a full 16-game season, the 25-year-old has started 55 of 64 possible games since Tennessee made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. The Titans recently invested in a better backup quarterback, swapping out Blaine Gabbert for Ryan Tannehill a couple weeks ago. There won't be any question about the Week 1 starter, but it is possible Mariota feels added pressure if he gets off to a slow start in September. The Titans added reinforcements to help avoid that scenario, shopping at the top of the free-agent market for guard Rodger Saffold and slot receiver Adam Humphries. Despite the long list of 2018 injuries, coach Mike Vrabel expects Mariota to be ready for the start of the offseason program in mid-April.