Titans refuse to leave offset language out of Marcus Mariota's contract

The Tennessee Titans refused to leave offset language out of quarterback Marcus Mariota's contact.

The Titans selected Mariota second overall in the 2015 NFL Draft, hoping he can transform the fate of the franchise.

Mariota remains the only 2015 first-rounder not to sign his rookie contract.

"We've always had offset language in our player contracts. It's nothing new," Titans president and interim CEO Steve Underwood told ESPN's Paul Kuharsky. "I think it is important where a high first-round draft pick is concerned, because it's the precedent. Everything that we do is precedential for the next round of contracts.

"So keeping the offset in place is something we want to be able to do going forward. And the minute you back away from the contract principal then you no longer are able to assert it going forward."

Offset language means that if Mariota was to be released in his fourth season, his new team would be forced to pay some of the remaining money left on his rookie contract. Without it, the Titans would foot the bill, while the Heisman Trophy winner could hypothetically suit up for another club.

"Getting a first-round draft pick, a quarterback, signed and in camp on time, it's a big deal," Underwood said. "It's something we need to be focused on. But using that or any other excuse to subvert the negotiating process, that's faulty logic.

"You still need to stick to your guns about what it is you're trying to achieve in the contract negotiation. You may need to use some fallback position. But getting your first-round draft pick to camp on time is important. Sticking to your guns about what you need to get in a contract is also important."

Earlier in the offseason, Mariota expressed patience with the contract negotiations, but it must be a jarring time to be a Titans fan, with the team ostensibly more worried about future asset management than getting its promising quarterback on the field as soon as possible.