INDIANAPOLIS -- As expected, Charlie Whitehurst is the quarterback starter for the Tennessee Titans Sunday in Indianapolis.
Jake Locker is on the shelf with an injured right wrist suffered last week in Cincinnati.
Whitehurst is a mystery man, a quarterback who’s in his ninth season despite poor showings in his 13 career appearances and four starts. He’s hit 54.2 percent of his passes with three touchdowns, four interceptions, three fumbles and a 64.6 passer rating.
Still, in 2013 in San Diego he won over the team’s offensive coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt, as the backup for Philip Rivers.
And given a choice between returning to the Chargers or moving to Nashville to work more with Whisenhunt, who became Tennessee’s head coach, Whitehurst made the move.
He understands what Whisenhunt wants to do, and Whisenhunt believes he can do it. (We took a look at a few things about Whitehurst earlier this week.)
The Titans have gone from Matt Hasselbeck to Ryan Fitzpatrick to Whitehurst as their backup over the last three seasons.
We've seen other guys who haven't played in a long time emerge with success this season, particularly Drew Stanton. (John Glennon of The Tennessean illustrated that recently.)
It’ll just be one game.
But we’ll get a strong sense Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium if Whitehurst is the right guy and if Whisenhunt made the right call.