"His strength is improving," team trainer Kevin O'Neill said. "I'm not going to be specific and say he's lifting 'that' many pounds. People can get hung up on those things.

"I'm looking at his functional strength, and I know it has improved. He started doing light throwing this week, and it has gone well."

Marino will miss his third consecutive start Sunday against Tennessee because of a pinched nerve in his neck, suffered against Indianapolis on Oct. 10.

O'Neill was hesitant to estimate when Marino can play again.

"I expect -- and I haven't spoken to anybody else about this -- personally that it will take some time to work back into a full load of practice and see how he does with that," O'Neill said. "I don't have a specific time frame."

Marino, who declined to comment on his health status this week, hopes to gain clearance to return to practice Tuesday after consulting with Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles.

Marino initially met two weeks ago with Watkins, who specializes in spine- and neck-related injuries, to get a second opinion. Marino removed himself after two series in an Oct. 17 game at New England because he couldn't generate much distance or velocity on his throws.