Jake Locker could play, decision will come tomorrow

Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker (10) looks to pass against the San Diego Chargers during the first half at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee Titans QB Jake Locker was able to practice all week, and his return date is starting to creep up. In fact, there’s a distinct possibility of Locker being able to return to the Titans this week and face off against the San Francisco 49ers ahead of the Week 8 bye week. While the most prudent and likely plan of action has the Titans resting Locker through the bye week, it is possible that the Titans decide Locker is healthy enough to play earlier and thus give the Titans a better chance at beating the 49ers. Locker is clearly a much better player than Ryan Fitzpatrick, but it is best to have him rest through the bye week so he will be closer to full strength going forward. By the way, the Titans Week 9 contest is against another NFC West team in the St. Louis Rams.

According to Titans head coach Mike Munchak, Jake Locker wants to play, and the decision to not allow him to play will be fully up to the Titans. That’s not surprising to hear at all, because Locker is an extremely tough player whose intangibles and leadership are just off the charts; it goes back to his days starring for the Washington Huskies.

From The Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt, “Jake wants it. It is going to be us to keep him off the field. I don’t know that he’ll be 100 percent honest with us, unfortunately. … He knows how important he is to team. But he understands what we have to do and he’ll go by ultimately what we decide is best, even though he may not agree with us, because there’s a lot of football to go this year.

“We want to make sure we are doing the right thing.”

It’s a situation that’s definitely worth monitoring closely, and we’ll see what Munchak and the Titans organization decides on tomorrow. Locker obviously wants to play and has a “big say”, so we’ll see if his work in practice (Munchak says he has done everything that they have asked) is enough to get him on the field this week. At the end of the day, I think the Titans decide to let him rest one more game.

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