Marcus Mariota will be at his first training camp on time. The Tennessee Titans announced Tuesday that they have signed the No. 2 overall pick to a contract with more than a week to spare before camp starts.
The news means that every first-round pick has signed on the dotted line, and there will be no training camp holdouts from any top rookies this year.
"Thank you to the Tennessee Titans organization as well as my agent for making a dream come true," Mariota said in a statement.
Despite the delay, it's not like there was a lot of drama surrounding this Mariota negotiation, despite it taking almost two months longer to hammer out than No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston's deal. The two sides disagreed on offset language, a relatively useless bit of protection for the Titans in case Mariota gets cut during his rookie contract. (If Mariota is released before the end of his contract, it's safe to say general manager Ruston Webster and coach Ken Whisenhunt will be long gone.)
With this bit of business out of the way, the Titans can ready for their most interesting training camp in years. They have a potentially fun passing game with Mariota, Kendall Wright, Justin Hunter, rookie Dorial Green-Beckham and tight end Delanie Walker. Mariota received rave reviews for his play during the offseason, picking up Whisenhunt's offense quickly.
Webster and Whisenhunt essentially bet their football futures on Mariota. After a draft season full of speculation about Mariota's ability to transition to the pro game, we finally get some answers soon.
*The latest Around The NFL Podcast discusses the eight most intriguing training camp battles heading into the season. *
