Titans: Locker out, Mettenberger in

The Nashville Tennessean has reported that the Tennessee Titans will start sixth-round rookie Zach Mettenbergerat quarterback in Week 8 against the Texans. 

And with that, Jake Locker has been formally demoted. This comes as somewhat of a surprise, as coach Ken Whisenhunt told the media on Monday that Jake Locker remains the Titans' starting quarterback when healthy. With the team sitting at 2-5 though, the coaching staff obviously changed their tune and felt that giving some of their younger players a larger role would be in their best interest.

Locker has not played well this season, accumulating a -12.8 Passing Grade (35^th out of 37 qualifiers) while throwing four interceptions and earning a 78.9 PFF QB Rating. When Locker missed time with hand and thumb injuries, Charlie Whitehurst was surprisingly effective- producing 7.80 Yards Per Attempt and a 96.2 PFF QB Rating. Despite this, Whisenhunt and his staff decided it would be best to give Mettenberger the opportunity to take the reigns moving forward.

Mettenberger had a strong preseason, earning a +3.4 Passing Grade and ranking fourth among QBs dropping back at least 50 times with a 102.9 PFF QB Rating. The Titans will be hoping that the rookie can carry this play into his first NFL start on Sunday.