The Tennessee Titans announced on Friday that they’ve reached an agreement with third-round pick Jeremiah Poutasi on a rookie contract. The deal leaves second-overall pick Marcus Mariota as the team’s only unsigned draft pick.
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Now with a contract in hand, Poutasi can focus on battling with offseason signing Byron Bell for the team’s starting right tackle job. The former Utah tackle spent the majority of his college career on the left side, but with 2014 first-rounder Taylor Lewan already manning the blind side tackle job, the Titans will hope their third-rounder can win a starting job and shore up the tackle spots for years to come.
It appears that Bell is the current favorite to land the job based on experience alone,with Poutasi slowly becoming a more prominent part of the line as the season progresses. With rookie quarterback Mariota likely the Week 1 starter and the Titans desperate to fix a running game that has been lost for years, the sense is that Ken Whisenhunt and company will go for experience over potential in selecting Bell. But the former Ute has the size, speed and mobility to make a legitimate run at being the Week 1 starter on the right side. He took reps with both the first and second teams at OTA’s.
Only four total players from the 2015 draft class remain unsigned with Poutasi now under contract, three coming from the AFC South. Mariota joins Indy’s D’Joun Smith and Henry Anderson as well as Oakland’s Mario Henderson as the only rookies without deals.
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