Tests on Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota’s knee revealed a sprained medial collateral ligament, head coach Ken Whisenhunt said Monday.
Whisenhunt said Mariota is “walking around fine” and didn’t rule the rookie out for Week 7. Depending on the severity, a sprained MCL carries a recovery time of 1-6 weeks.
“We’ll see how it goes this week,” Whisenhunt said.
Mariota took a beating on Sunday, absorbing five sacks to raise his season total to 19 and playing most of the game with an injured knee as the result of a late hit by defensive end Olivier Vernon in the second quarter.
“I think it was B.S.,” Whisenhunt said of Vernon’s low hit, which drew a roughing-the-passer flag. “It’s not the way you play football. I think it was done with the idea of trying to hurt our quarterback.”
Mariota said Vernon approached him after the game to apologize for the play.
“I don’t think it was malicious,” Mariota said.
Vernon said he is not “a dirty player.”
“I know one thing — it wasn’t intentional,” Vernon said. “I’ve never been a dirty player in my whole career. … Nobody tries to get personal fouls. I know one thing, they are expensive.”