The Tennessee Titans snagged quarterback Marcus Mariota with the No. 2 overall pick Thursday and expect the rookie to start right out of the gate.
Giving the gig to the first-year signal-caller sends Zach Mettenberger back to the bench after the Titans spent the past several months talking him up as a potential franchise quarterback (smokescreen!).
The Mariota selection led to rumors about Mettenberger asking for a trade. Joe Linta, Mettenberger's agent, told NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport that his client doesn't desire to be traded and wants to compete for the starting gig under center against Mariota.
"We talked to Zach, and that's not Zach in any way," Titants general manager Ruston Webster said Thursday about Mettenberger wanting out, via The Tennessean. "I think he'll embrace the situation here and he won't be traded."
Coach Ken Whisenhunt said he spoke directly with Mettenberger and believes the former sixth-round pick will compete to get better as the backup.
"We just talked before I came in (to the news conference), so he's up for the challenge," Webster added. "I think one of the things that was important for Zach to understand is that he built up a lot of good equity with what he did. There's a lot of potential there, and we're excited about Zach."
The hype surrounding Mettenberger had been incessant, from the comparisons to a poor man's Tom Brady, to NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell saying he favored Mettenberger over Jameis Winston.
The Titans plan to hang on to Mettenberger as an insurance policy should something happen to their new franchise quarterback.
"The way this league is going on, very seldom do you get a quarterback that goes through the whole season," Whisenhunt said. "So Zach will get an opportunity at some point. When he does, he's got to be ready to take advantage of that.
"He'll get a lot of work in preseason. He'll get some work with the (first team) and he'll get prepared."
If Mettenberger is getting more than just preseason reps during a game in 2015, something went wrong in Tennessee.
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