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Lack of Mariota contract a cause for concern for Tennessee Titans?

By Michael Natelli

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Training Camp starts in under a month, and Marcus Mariota is one of just three unsigned rookies from the 2015 Draft class. Titans general manager Ruston Webster insisted that the team shouldn’t have any issues signing the second-overall pick, but speculation has gone rampant in recent days that the former Oregon quarterback could be holding out for a trade to reunite with his college coach in Philadelphia. NJ.com’s Mark Eckel led the charge, giving the Eagles a wakeup call in a post Saturday morning that Mariota hadn’t signed. While no official reports have suggested the rookie quarterback wants out of Tennessee, it makes one think: Could he be trying to swing a trade to Philadelphia?

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Titans coaches and media alike raved about Mariota’s performance in OTA’s and the team has gone above and beyond marketing their new signal-caller to fans, so Tennessee is giving off the impression that they’re confident they’ll get him signed. It’s also quite possible that Mariota’s representatives and Titans personnel could be working out specific language of the contract, as Tennessee management is in a difficult position with ownership and executive leadership currently in limbo.

But it’s hard to ignore the fact that weeks from the start of camp, Mariota is the only rookie outside the Colts organization that remains unsigned. Chip Kelly used the analogy back during Draft season that he “drove through the neighborhood, the houses were just too expensive,” and he could very well be looking to get that house on the cheap months later. Despite the rave reviews that Kelly has given Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow, it gets harder by the day to believe that he would be content having any of the three start under center for him.

Kelly’s also demonstrated a willingness to part with top talent to have his way (see: Mathis, Evan or McCoy, LeSean), and why wouldn’t he continue to do so? Especially for a player he’s had his sights on for quite some time.

Mariota could very well end up suiting up for Tennessee in Week 1, and this could just be some freak thing. But when Chip Kelly is involved, it’s hard to think there’s not at least a chance something may be something going on.

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