Jake Locker Decides To Call It Quits

Tennessee Titan’s Quarterback Jake Locker announced today that he is calling it quits in the NFL. Locker is only 26 years old. We should all be so lucky.

Jake was taken as the eighth overall pick in the 2011 draft. Locker had been an outstanding quarterback for the Washington Huskies. He was extremely mobile. He was extremely fast. He was also extremely inaccurate. But the Titans believed they could get this fixed.

Locker worked as hard as anyone could to become a better quarterback. He put in the work to become a better pocket passer, and he did become better. A little better. Unfortunately a little better is not what is needed in the NFL. But Jake handled himself well. He learned the game plan, and he executed the game plan.

Jake was a fantastic teammate and a natural leader. I can still see Jake at Father Ryan High School’s football stadium in Nashville during the lockout of 2011. Vince Young was still on the roster, but it was clear that the Titans wanted Jake to take over this offense. And he commanded himself in a manner of which leaders are made. He became the leader that offseason. The Titans did start veteran Matt Hasselbeck that season though.

Jake’s biggest issue was injury of course. It wasn’t desire. It wasn’t laziness. It wasn’t complacency. It wasn’t the nightlife. It was injury. Pure and simple. And the injuries were strange.

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Jake did not play a lot his first season. He played in some mop up roles and had a combined yardage total of 542 yards on 34 completions. He had only 4 touchdowns throwing and one touchdown running. He also did not have an interception in 66 attempts.

In 2012 Jake got the starting nod. 2012 was an impressive season for Locker. He completed a total of 177 passes in 314 attempts for a 56.4 percent completion rate. However, his quarterback rating was only 44.5 percent. His passer rating was 74. Jake played in 11 games that season. That was a career year for Locker in games played, passes completed, attempted and touchdowns. He threw for 10 touchdowns, but he also had 11 interceptions.

Jake suffered his first injury that season. It was a shoulder injury. It kept him out of 5 games that season. It was the first of many.

Jake was again named starter in 2013. This year did not go so well. Jake got off to a great start. He was really good in a season opening win against over the Pittsburgh Steelers. All seemed well. Jake continued to play well up until the New York Jet game. Locker was sandwiched between two defenders and stayed down on the field. The injury was diagnosed as a hip injury. These are the things that plagued this guy. Hated to see such bad things happen to such a good person. But it did.

Locker returned to the field a few weeks later but went out with another weird injury. This time it was a foot injury that sidelined him. No one was around him when it happened. It was diagnosed as a Lisfranc injury. Lisfranc? What is a lisfranc injury? Again, this is what happened to Jake. Fans wanted it to be a torn acl or mcl. Maybe a torn hamstring. Maybe blow out an Achilles. No, it was his lisfranc. Nothing Jake could do, but fans became a little impatient. Locker, after showing promise early, was now out for the season and only played in 7 of the teams 16 games.

Last season things got off to an incredible start. Again the Titans jumped on a very good football team in the Kansas City Chiefs. The Titans, behind Locker, moved the ball at will through the air and on the ground. Jake was back and looking good. He was also in an option year. Very important for Jake to play well. The Titans had the option to resign Jake to a fifth year.

Instead Jake became embattled again with nagging injuries. He was eventually benched for Charlie Whitehurst, and eventually he was benched to allow first year pro out of LSU Zach Mettenberger the opportunity. In December Locker received another shoulder injury and was put on injured reserve. He was done as a Titan. He again only played in 7 of the teams 11 games. In fairness, Jake did not fit the new Whisenhunt system. Based on last season, who knows what success looks like from a quarterback in that system.

So today Jake Locker stood up and said he was finished. He said he did not have the desire to play at this level anymore, and that it would be unfair to any organization that picked him up.  Jake is a stand up guy. You have to give him that much.

I got really upset when I heard fans make fun of Locker. He was characterized as soft. He was characterized as not a tough guy. He was tough, and he was not soft. Jake mixed it up with the best of them. Sometimes he didn’t need to, but it was his style. He had to learn to slide and not go head first. You could tell he hated it when he did slide. No sir, he was not soft.

In the long run it was Jakes inability to stay on the field and his inability to hit a wide open receiver downfield that ended his run as an NFL quarterback. But he tried hard to beat both of these shortfalls. He tried really hard. I wish Jake Locker the best in whatever he does. He will be a huge success. He is and will be a leader no matter what endeavor he choses. Good luck Jake.