(AP Photo)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Titans have named Jake Locker as their starting quarterback for the regular season, the team confirmed Monday.
Locker will be behind center when the Titans open the regular season September 9 against New England at LP Field.
Locker beat out veteran Matt Hasselbeck, despite his struggles in the preseason. Locker was just 4 of 11 for 21 yards in his first NFL start Friday night, a 30-7 win at Tampa Bay.
Titans coach Mike Munchak opened the competition in January between Locker, the eighth overall pick in the 2011 draft out of Washington, and veteran Hasselbeck, who led Tennessee to an unexpected 9-7 record last season.
Hasselbeck and Locker split work again with the first-team offense Sunday, rotating between drills in the final open practice of training camp for Tennessee. During practice on Sunday, both had their moments with Hasselbeck picked off in a two-minute drill, while Locker completed 1 of 5 passes.
The eighth draft pick overall in 2011 will play 40 to 50 snaps Thursday night against Arizona with three weeks to prep for the opener Sept. 9 against New England.
Locker has been impressive to date coming off the bench. He threw for 542 yards and four touchdowns while running for a fifth score in five games as a rookie, and he was 7-of-13 for 80 yards again following Hasselbeck into the game against a mixture of Seattle's starters and backups in a 27-17 loss last week on the road.
Hasselbeck, who was intercepted twice in the preseason opener, was 4 of 5 for 29 yards.
(The Associated Press Contributed To This Report.)
