Checking in on the Tennessee Titans QB battle: “For us, it’s about winning”
Ian Rapoport | Tags: NFL Training Camp, Jake Locker, Matt Hasselbeck, Titans
Hello from Nashville, Tenn., where the Titans are getting ready to practice in a few hours. Right now, veteran LB Keith Bulluck is officially announcing his retirement, which is great to see. But for this year’s team, it’s all about the QBs.
Matt Hasselbeck had a big day yesterday, while Jake Locker was slightly innacurate. Locker, the 2011 first-round draft pick, has had other big days. So, who has the edge? What will determine it?
A couple minutes ago, I spoke with GM Ruston Webster. He broke it down.
“We’re trying to not make any decisions on day-by-day type of things, but look at everything as a whole and just how their entire camp is,” Webster told me. “They’ve both had their moments. Just trying to be fair to both of them and get a complete evaluation of it.”
As for a timetable, Webster didn’t provide one. Sounds like they’d like to have a starter by the third preseason game, but that’s not set in stone. Whenever it strikes them, they’re gonna go name one. “They’re both good, we love them both,” Webster said. “It’s just a matter of, we’re going to have to pick one of them eventually.“
“Eventually,” Webster said, Locker will start. But what they want to avoid is a situation where the organization take steps back now just to get Locker in there. That doesn’t make sense with a backup as good as Hasselbeck. The focus, clearly, is on winning now. And whoever the starter is, he’ll get a chance to keep being that job for this year. As Webster said, they’re not gonna put a guy out there to get pulled.
“For us, too, it’s about winning,” Webster said. “And whoever we think gives us the best chance to win. It’s not like we’re going to put somebody out there and they don’t give us the best chance to win. So, whoever it is, we feel good about both of them. But that’s going to be the driving force, not three years down the road.”



