Zach Mettenberger is out in Tennessee and the Arizona Cardinals would be very wise to put in their waiver claim immediately.
The #Titans have waived QB Zach Mettenberger, who was the primary backup last year. Should find out his destination tomorrow.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 16, 2016
The timing of Zach Mettenberger's release: #Titans knew his future wasn't in Tennessee, this gives him an OTAs & minicamp somewhere to learn
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 16, 2016
It’s a somewhat surprising turn of event. Many felt the third-year quarterback was perfectly situated to be the backup for Marcus Mariota given his youth and game experience. However, rumors of off-the-field and locker room problems may have contributed to the decision. As he goes on waivers, Pro Football Talk asked the inevitable question. Which team, if any, has good reason to claim him.
"“Even though Mettenberger is 0-10 as a starter, interested teams know the Titans haven’t been very good the last two seasons. He’s 6-foot-5 and has completed 60 percent of his passes, and that should be good enough for some team to take a low-risk flier on a player who’s still on his rookie contract. The timing of his release was curious, but enough teams need quarterbacks to think that Mettenberger will get another shot soon.”"
It would be easy to list a number of possible landing spots for him, but the fact of the matter is one team rises above the pack in this particular situation. That team is the Arizona Cardinals. They make sense for him in a variety of ways.
Bruce Arians is a head coach with a long history of turning players with questionable backgrounds into productive professionals. Just ask Tyrann Mathieu. Besides that, the team is cognisant of the fact that Carson Palmer approached his late 30s. At some point they have to start thinking about a succession plan.
Mettenberger is Arians’ ideal type of quarterback. He’s big and tall, stands in the pocket and has the powerful arm to push the ball down the field. So not only does player fit system and philosophy of team, but team fits personality and style of player. There is no better match going either way.
If the Arizona Cardinals are smart, and they are, they’ve already put in a waiver claim.