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Though the Las Vegas Raiders haven’t needed him much over the last two seasons, they’ve been fortunate to have a strong backup quarterback in Marcus Mariota. He only saw meaningful action once last season when Derek Carr was injured against the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite playing well in that game, the Raiders sparingly used the quarterback in certain packages that utilized his ability to run.
New head coach Josh McDaniels is a strong offensive mind and could likely find better ways to use Mariota. However, the quarterback will be a free agent and could land a starting job elsewhere instead of continuing to be Carr’s backup. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is coming off another MVP-level season but he’s made his unhappiness with the franchise clear in the past. It’s still possible he gets traded this offseason.
If that were to happen, NFL insider Benjamin Allbright believes the Packers could pursue Mariota.
Obviously, Mariota isn’t near the same level of quarterback that Rodgers is on but there’s simply no replacing a quarterback of his caliber. Mariota has talent as he was the No. 2 overall pick when he was drafted. Perhaps he’s learned some things over the last couple of years with the Raiders and could thrive under a great offensive-minded coach like Matt LaFleur.
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Raiders Could Try to Land Capable Backup QB
When McDaniels was with the New England Patriots, the team always tried to employ a capable backup quarterback. That’s why they drafted players like Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett within the first three rounds of their drafts. The Patriots had the greatest quarterback of all time in Tom Brady, who is also very durable, but still chose to use valuable picks on quarterbacks.
Carr is a good quarterback and can certainly win a lot of games with McDaniels. However, he’s entering a contract year and the Raiders don’t have a backup quarterback on the roster for next year quite yet. It’s hard to imagine McDaniels would love the idea of having Nathan Peterman back up Carr. The Raiders could be players to draft a quarterback after the first round this year. Carr might not love that but it’s how the Patriots always did things and it worked out for them.
Any Chance Mariota Stays With Raiders?
While Mariota will get consideration to be the starting quarterback for a number of teams, there’s no guarantee he’ll find a better situation than he’ll have with the Raiders. He’s got a great rapport with his teammates and Las Vegas is known as the “Ninth Island” of Hawaii due to the large population of Hawaiians who live in the city.
Mariota may like what he has going on and perhaps McDaniels could convince him that he’ll have a bigger role in the Raiders offense next season. It’s a long shot but the team would be wise to at least try. Backup quarterbacks don’t get much better than Mariota.
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