Rookie quarterback Jake Locker received his first extended look Sunday in Atlanta, but not under the circumstances the Tennessee Titans would have liked.Â
Locker entered the game late during the third quarter for starter Matt Hasselbeck, who left with a strained right elbow. Titans coach Mike Munchak wasn't ready to be definitive on Hasselbeck's injury, saying only that more testing would be needed.
"We'll have to check him tomorrow and see exactly to what extent (the injury is)," Munchak told reporters. "He's sore, and that's why we took him out of the game."Â
Hasselbeck said he tried to return to the game but wasn't able to throw, and it was ultimately a "doctor's decision" that kept him out.
"I don't think we really know anything right now," Hasselbeck said about the injury.
Hasselbeck was injured when a rusher knocked the ball out of his throwing hand on a pass attempt, and remained on the Titans' sideline the rest of the game with ice on his right arm. He completed 13 of 25 passes for 124 yards and an interception before leaving the game.
Locker didn't waste any time making a good impression, throwing a 40-yard touchdown to Nate Washington on his third pass of the game. Locker finished 9-of-19 passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
Munchak immediately downplayed the inevitable questions from reporters, saying Hasselbeck will remain the Titans' starter when he's healthy.
