NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans said early on that they didn’t anticipate Marcus Mariota being part of their OTAs.

But the quarterback won’t be sitting all the way out.

Coach Mike Mularkey said recently that the team will search for ways to get Mariota work while not threatening his health. Mariota is still recovering from surgery where he had a plate inserted in his right leg to repair the broken fibula he suffered Dec. 24 in Jacksonville.

As of late last week, Mariota still hadn’t opened up to run full speed, and Mularkey said in mid-May there was simply no rush to do it.

“We’re going to do some things that he’s going to be able to practice, do some things that aren’t going to subject him to being (at risk),” Mularkey said. “We may do more 7-on-7s than we’ve ever done, things like that to try to help him out.”

Seven-on-seven periods feature the quarterback collecting a snap from an equipment man and passing to his five targets playing against defensive backs and linebackers. No offensive or defensive lines are involved, and Mariota won’t be near any traffic or bodies.

That sort of work will commence next week, though it's unclear if Mariota will be in it from the start.

It’s a great way for him to learn draft-pick receivers Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor, even as Mariota continues to rehabilitate. And Davis may not be doing much more either, as he too is recovering from surgery. He had ligaments repaired in an ankle after Western Michigan’s season ended.

“You talk about timing in the passing game, that’s one way to be able to do it without a rush in (Mariota’s) face and having to move,” Mularkey said. “It’s one way.

“We’re working on other ways to get the work done.”