The Philadelphia Eagles are signing QB Marcus Mariota on a one-year, $8 million deal to be Jalen Hurts’ backup. This is another quarterback move this offseason. With this signing, Mariota is finally coming to Philly, even though a little bit older and not as much of a promise as he was eight years ago.
To explain this story, let’s back up to 2015. Marcus Mariota was one of the most talented QB prospects in that draft, coming from Oregon. The Philadelphia Eagles had the no. 20 overall pick that year and they wanted to draft Mariota so badly that they reportedly prepared a combo to move up to the top 2 on the draft.
This package included two first-round picks, one third-round pick, DT Fletcher Cox, DB Brandon Boykin and LB Mychal Kendricks. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans, who had pick 1 and pick 2 in that draft, respectively, did not accept the deal. So the Bucs selected Jameis Winston and the Titans landed Mariota.
Over the past decade, Mariota was considered one of the biggest “what ifs” in Philadelphia sports. Eight years later, with the Eagles playing two Super Bowls in the meantime (and winning one), the QB is finally an Eagle. But now to be Jalen Hurts’ backup as his career turned out to be “not that good” so far.
Marcus Mariota
His professional career started in Tennessee when he joined the Titans after the draft. He spent five seasons there before his move to the Las Vegas Raiders, in 2020. After another two years and only 11 games, he moved again, this time to the Atlanta Falcons, where he played last season. He was benched over rookie Desmond Ridder in December and released in February, after the Super Bowl.
During his eight-year career, Mariota played a total of 87 games in the regular season (and five in the playoffs). His numbers are not that bad, but neither they are good. He has 1,312 completions in 2,095 attempts (62.6%), 15,656 yards, 92 touchdowns and 54 interceptions. Running with the ball he has 349 attempts for 2,012 yards and 17 TDs. He’s also fumbled the ball 21 times.
