After injuring his wrist in the Titans’ Week 3 loss to the Bengals, quarterback Jake Locker remained out of practice Thursday. Tennessee has Locker listed as questionable for their Week 4 divisional matchup with Indianapolis.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt told the media after practice that he is concerned for his quarterback’s status against the Colts after suffering a setback this week and it's looking less and less likely that Locker will be able to suit up.
The Titans’ signal-caller has struggled so far in 2014. After a solid season opener against the Chiefs where he earned a +1.9 passing grade, Locker posted a dreadful combined -12.6 in his next two games and now sits last among 35 QBs in overall grade. Adding to that, he also ranks 30th with an Accuracy Percentage of 65.3%.
If Locker is ruled out on Sunday, Charlie Whitehurst will start for Tennessee. The backup quarterback posted an uninspiring 6.27 Yards per Attempt and 52.1% ‘Air Yards' (passing yards minus YAC) in two preseason games this year and hasn't started a game since 2011. In fact, since PFF began grading games (2007), Whitehurst has started only four times and has a combined -12.3 overall grade in those efforts.
The Titans' choice of an injured Locker or a plainly limited Whitehurst is not an enviable one and, either way, the outlook is grim.