Brandon Weeden Signed by Titans Due to Marcus Mariota Injury

The Tennessee Titans officially signed free-agent quarterback Brandon Weeden on Tuesday.

Field Yates of ESPN first reported the Titans intended to sign Weeden.

The potential move comes after Marcus Mariota suffered a hamstring injury in Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans. While that injury doesn't appear to be serious, the Titans may nonetheless be preparing for a possible stint on the sidelines for Mariota.

"I'm going to take it day by day with Marcus and make sure we're smart with him," Titans coach Mike Mularkey noted to reporters Monday.

The team also reportedly considered signing Matt Barkley, Matt McGloin and T.J. Yates, according to Pro Football Talk.

Weeden, 33, last appeared in an NFL game in the 2015 season with the Houston Texans. In 34 career games, he's thrown for 6,462 yards, 31 touchdowns and 30 interceptions, completing just 57.9 percent of his passes.

He would join Matt Cassel on the depth chart behind Mariota.

Given Weeden's poor past production, however, there may be questions as to why the team didn't consider a player like Colin Kaepernick, a natural fit in the read-option offense Tennessee runs with Mariota on the field. Kaepernick ran the read-option extensively during his time with the San Francisco 49ers and, from an athletic standpoint, approximates Mariota's skill set.

In Cassel and Weeden, meanwhile, the Titans have far less mobile options and will likely need to adjust their offensive approach. In that regard, Mike Tanier of Bleacher Report and football writer Cian Fahey treated the Weeden signing with a fair dose of sarcasm:

"

...or something.

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) October 3, 2017"

For Tennessee, of course, the hope will be that Mariota can play through his hamstring injury and remain effective, keeping Cassel and Weeden on the sidelines.