WAITING GAME

It’s been a season without playing on Sundays for Marc Mariani. But the former Havre Blue Pony and Montana Grizzly great hasn’t been without football all together.

Instead, Mariani, who was not re-signed by the Tennessee Titans following the 2016 NFL season, has been working diligently, as he always does, since last season ended, staying ready in case a new opportunity comes, much like it did after his first stint with the Titans was over. That’s when the Chicago Bears came calling in mid season, and Mariani made a splash for two years in Chicago.

“I’ve just tried to control what I can control, and that’s staying ready,” Mariani said. “I’ve just wanted to stay ready for when that call comes, whether it’s for workout for a team, or whether it’s getting in on the action right away.

“You’ve seen how injuries can affect teams a lot this season already,” he continued. “So it’s not over yet. I’m still hoping another opportunity comes my way.”

Mariani, who has seven years of NFL experience with the Titans and Bears, which included a trip to the Pro Bowl in 2010, knows all about working hard to prepare for the next opportunity. He also knows what it’s like to be without the excitement of playing on Sundays, as he dealt with a pair of missed seasons due to injuries in a career that has seen him rack up 3,766 kickoff return yards with one touchdown, as well as 1,275 punt return yards and two career TDs. Mariani has averaged 24.5 yards per kick return, even through rule changes to the kickoff, and 9.2 yards per punt return in an outstanding special teams career.

And while, twice, the former Griz’ All-American fought his way back from difficult injuries, this past year of staying ready has been different. Mariani is healthy and injury free, and so he’s been working out every day in southern California with the express purpose of being ready for another shot in the NFL.

“It’s a constant unknown,” Mariani said. “It’s hard because you have to stay ready pretty much the whole year because there’s a chain of events throughout the year that lead to roster changes and transactions. You have free agency that starts in March, then OTAs, then the draft, then mini camps, then training camps, then cuts at the end of training camp, and then the season. Every one of those events, there’s moves being made, so you’re just trying to stay ready through that entire process.

“So that’s what I’ve been doing,” he continued. “I’ve been down here in California, working my butt off trying to stay ready.”

And let’s be honest, for a Havre, Montana boy, working out every day in Cali isn’t a bad thing, even with the uncertainty of whether or not an NFL team will come calling.

“This (California) is where I’ve always trained,” Mariani said. “My wife’s family is down here, my agent is down here, so it’s good. And I’m about two blocks away from the beach, so that definitely isn’t a bad thing.”

But as much as Mariani enjoys training in California, he’d still rather be playing every Sunday. He’s enjoyed a lot of success in the NFL, especially considering that he was a seventh-round draft pick from FCS Montana.

But as much as he loves playing, and as hard as he’s always worked at it, he knows the clock on his NFL career is ticking away, and he understands that, at some point, his playing days will be over for good.

“It’s not over yet, it’s only midseason right now. I’m still hoping something could happen, and I’m ready if it does,” Mariani said. “But if it doesn’t happen this season, I’ll be done. I won’t go through another offseason like this one. Let’s be honest, I know why teams probably aren’t calling. It’s my age and my past injuries. Those are reasons they’re not picking up the phone now, so the chances they would call after not playing an entire year, those chances are pretty slim.”

And given what Mariani has gone through in his NFL career, seeing the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, including a gruesome lower leg injury, and being let go now, twice by the Titans, where he is absolutely beloved, and shockingly by the Bears, where he was released following his most productive season of his career as a wide receiver, Mariani knows and understands the business of the NFL as well as anybody. So it’s not hard to see why he has begun to ponder a future without football.

While that future might be closer now than it ever has been, and while he does, and will, certainly miss being a football player, he isn’t afraid of that time coming either.

“I’ve been doing this pretty much every year since middle school,” Mariani said. “Football has been such a huge part of my life for so long. And I’ve loved every second of it. But there will come a time when I know I’ll be able to enjoy other things. I don’t know what exactly that will be yet. I’m still focused on finishing this season out, but at some point, I’ll really look forward to doing something else.”

And when he does enter the next phase of his life, whatever that may be, there’s something else Mariani won’t have — any regrets.

He has played NFL football, at the highest level. At several points during his career, Mariani was considered one of the most skilled return men in the league. He’s been to a Pro Bowl, he’s been in the end zone, he’s been a huge fan favorite wherever he’s played, and above all else, through his intense work ethic, his determination and his charismatic personality, he’s made it when so many detractors, going back to his early days with the Grizzlies, said he wouldn’t.

“When the time comes, I’ll be happy to hang it up,” Mariani said. “I’ll be happy and content knowing I gave it everything I had. No matter where I’ve been, I’ve always given it everything I’ve got. I’ll always be happy knowing that.”