Zach Mettenberger aiming for QB1 slot on Titans

Don’t tell Zach Mettenberger how things usually go for sixth round picks. As far as he’s concerned, he’s just another quarterback on the training camp roster competing for the starting job. Pro Football Talk summed up an interview conducted by SiriusXM NFL Radio in which the former LSU quarterback clearly outlined his plans for training camp and beyond.

"“I’m going to make Jake work that much harder, make Charlie [Whitehurst] work that much harder, cause I’m coming everyday. And I’m bringing my best effort and my hardest work to the facility everyday to show that I shot be the guy playing,” Mettenberger said.“We don’t play this game to ride the bench, you don’t play this game to just get a paycheck – at least the good ones don’t. You play this game because you love it, you love competing, and you wanna play. That’s what I’m doing.”"

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PFT notes that it’s ‘almost impossible’ for a sixth round pick to beat out an established young starter like Jake Locker, but Locker hasn’t had great luck with injuries and one can assume that the Titans picked up Mettenberger with exactly that in mind.

Expect Locker to start the season for the Titans, but if anything goes wrong, Mettenberger offers much more upside than likely backup and former Seattle Seahawk Charlie Whitehurst. Even if Mettenberger doesn’t see the field in 2014, the organization will feel better knowing they have a contingency plan this time around in case Locker falls to another injury.