The Titans will see the return of quarterback Marcus Mariota on Monday night, as he’s expected to start against the Colts after recovering from a strained hamstring, according to veteran NFL reporter Paul Kuharsky (Twitter link).

With Mariota sidelined for Week 5, Tennessee turned to veteran backup Matt Cassel, who couldn’t move the offense in a 16-10 loss to the Dolphins. Cassel completed 21 of 32 attempts for only 141 yards and one touchdown while taking six sacks. Brandon Weeden, signed following Mariota’s injury, served as Cassel’s No. 2, but it’s unclear whether he’ll remain on the roster now that Mariota is available.

The Titans, Texans, and Colts all sit at 2-3, one game behind the AFC South leading Jaguars. Football Outsiders currently gives Tennessee a 24.2% chance of making the playoffs, and those odds should only be buoyed by Mariota’s return. Through four starts, Mariota has completed 60% of his passes for three touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 116 yards and three more scores on the ground.

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is not expected to suit up for today’s matchup against the Dolphins, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Backup Matt Cassel will start in Mariota’s stead.

An MRI earlier this week revealed that Mariota suffered a strained hamstring in last Sunday’s blowout loss to the Texans. Mariota returned to the game following the initial hit that led to injury, and he warmed up before the second half as if he planned to re-enter the game. But following discussions with the Titans’ staff, Mariota went to the locker room and didn’t re-appear on Tennessee’s sideline until the fourth quarter. With the Titans already down 30-14 at halftime, the team decided not to risk further injury to its star QB.

After entering the game, Cassel went just 4-10 for 21 yards and two interceptions, and given his recent track record, it might be asking too much for him to keep the team afloat if Mariota were to miss a significant amount of time. The same is true of Brandon Weeden, whom the Titans recently signed in the wake of Mariota’s injury. At 2-2, Tennessee is in a three-way tie in the wide open AFC South, and it needs Mariota back on the field as soon as possible.

As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports, even though Mariota was considered day-to-day this week and had a chance of suiting up today, his recovery time from the date of the injury was two to four weeks, so he may not be ready for next week’s game against the Colts.

An MRI revealed that Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota has a strained hamstring and is now day-to-day, head coach Mike Mularkey told reporters, including Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com (Twitter links) and veteran NFL reporter Paul Kuharsky (Twitter links).

Mariota returned to Sunday’s contest following the initial hit that led to injury, and warmed up before the second half as if he planned to re-enter the game. But following discussions with the Titans’ staff, Mariota went to the locker room and didn’t re-appear on Tennessee’s sideline until the fourth quarter. With the Titans already down 30-14 at halftime, Mularkey decided not to risk further injury to Mariota.

If Mariota can’t play against the Dolphins in Week 5, the Titans would turn to veteran Matt Cassel, who completed only four of 10 attempts for 21 yards yesterday while tossing two interceptions. Per Mularkey, Tennessee’s passing attack will remain similar if Cassel is forced to start, but changes will be made to the run game. A decision on Mariota’s status may not be made until next Sunday morning.

The Titans only have two quarterbacks on their current roster, so Mularkey admitted the club could look to add a third signal-caller. Practice squader Tyler Ferguson would be an obvious candidate for promotion, but the 2017 undrafted free agent doesn’t have any NFL experience.

After leaving today’s loss to the Texans, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of his hamstring injury, according to Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com. Sources in the Tennessee lock room expressed “optimism” that Mariota will return to action quickly, as Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets.

Mariota returned to Sunday’s contest following the initial hit that led to injury, and warmed up before the second half as if he planned to re-enter the game. But following discussions with the Titans’ staff, Mariota went to the locker room and didn’t re-appear on Tennessee’s sideline until the fourth quarter, per Wyatt. With the Titans already down 30-14 at halftime, head coach Mike Mularkey decided not to risk further injury to Mariota.

“He wanted to see if he could play,” Mularkey said, referring to Mariota. “He came out, warmed up and I said to him: ‘I’d like to be smart about it. There’s a lot of football still to go. We have 12 games to go, so let’s be smart about it. I’ll know more about the extent of it (later).”

Following today’s 54-17 defeat, the Titans now stand at 2-2, tied with the Jaguars and Texans for first place in the AFC South (pending a result in the Colts’ Sunday night contest). Mariota, for his part, has played well thus far in 2017, as he’d completed 60% of his passes for 696 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception heading into Week 4. He ranks eighth among NFL quarterbacks in adjusted net yards per attempt, and has also added 77 yards and one score on the ground.

Matt Cassel replaced Mariota in today’s loss, and completed nearly as many passes to the Texans as he did to Titans wide receivers. On 10 attempts, Cassel managed only four completions for 21 yards while tossing two interceptions. He’d start for Tennessee against Miami next week if Mariota can’t go, while practice squad quarterback Tyler Ferguson would presumably be promoted to the active roster.