An emotional return to the helmet

When last we heard from former Havre High and Montana Grizzly great Marc Mariani, it was December, and he was just getting deep into rehabbing his broken leg he suffered in August 2012 during a preseason NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals in Nashville.

At the time, Mariani noted how well things were going, but also made mention of the fact, many times, just how tough, difficult and long the road to recovery was still going to be.

Now it’s June, the Tennessee Titans and the rest of the NFL are hard at work with Organized Team Activities, and training camps are just around the corner. And perhaps few in the NFL are as hard at work as Mariani.

Almost 10 months after suffering that horrffic injury on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Mariani is back in cleats, back in a helmet and back catching balls from Titans’ quarterback Jake Locker. And he says it couldn’t be more fun.

“There’s been a lot of emotion,” Mariani told the media last week in Nashville. “Just putting a helmet back on and getting out there has been huge for me. It’s been great to get back out there with the guys.”

Mariani’s road back to being on the football field also impressed new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, too.

“Nine months ago, the bone was sticking out of there,” Loggains said. “For him to be practicing at this point is pretty amazing.”

Of course, being back isn’t all fun for Mariani, who started off his NFL career with a bang by making the 2010 Pro Bowl. He came back in his sophomore season and scored his third career touchdown on a punt return and once again was among the NFL leaders in return yardage. It’s not fun all the time because Mariani knows he’s still got a tough road to fully recover from the devastating injury, and a fight to once again make the Titans’ 53-man roster at wide receiver.

“There was some doubt. If I said there wasn’t, I’d be lying,” he said. “After the surgery, the rehab was tough. September, October and November were the hard physical therapy months. You’re just pushing yourself, trying to see what the leg can do.

“I’ve still got a lot of work to do,” he continued. “I’m ready to go and ready to participate but getting back to where I was — who knows? There’s always that uncertainty. There’s always question marks.”

Still, Mariani is prepared to do what it takes to get back to his old self, even with a roster full of talented young receivers like Kenny Britt, Kendall Wright, Damien Williams and Justin Hunter, not to mention veteran Nate Washington and return man Darius Reynaud, who put up quality numbers in the return game last season in Mariani’s absence.

“There’s a lot of competition, which is awesome,” Mariani said. “I definitely have a new perspective because sitting on the sideline is not where I want to be. What fuels me is wanting to compete and wanting to be the best, just wanting to get back out there on Sundays.”

The Titans have two OTA practices left this summer. They open training camp near the end of July. Tennessee’s first preseason game will be against the Washington Redskins, Aug. 8, in Nashville.