Nobody Wants Marcus Mariota, Nor Should They
One of the weirdest storylines in the NFL offseason was this idea that Marcus Mariota was going to be a coveted target for teams. The former first round pick out of Oregon has proven he can’t play. Nevertheless, those Mariota trade rumors ran rampant.
It now turns out that those rumors were nonsense the entire time. NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport is now saying that the trade market for Mariota has “dried up”. It more so sounds like he’s covering his tracks because the idea that there was ever a trade market is laughable.
“A couple of days ago, it really seemed like Marcus Mariota was going to be on the move,” Rapoport said. “I know teams were interested, were calling the Las Vegas Raiders about potentially acquiring Marcus Mariota. Things did get down the line a little bit. There is significant interest in teams trying to get Marcus Mariota … but there is an issue. Take a look at his contract. He’s due a little more than $10 million this year. If he’s going to be a bridge starter, which would be the role he’d come in and play, that’s not bad. That’s actually not the issue.
“The issue is based on incentives. If he is the starter and ends up playing the entire season, he can make an additional $12 million, so more than $20 million for Marcus Mariota. Teams, as of right now, don’t seem to think that’s something that would be worth it, especially when you consider they’d also give up a draft pick to trade for him. That trade market has now dried up significantly.”
The contract is only part of the problem. Eating that much money for a quarterback that can’t play while giving up draft equity in a trade makes zero sense.
The NFL.com article that’s linked above is hilarious. I just want to drop this quote in quick.
“One day Mariota is all but traded. A few Earth rotations later, he’s a potential cut candidate.”
As the kids would say… BRUH. NOBODY WANTS MARIOTA. GUY CAN’T Play! He’s modern day Akili Smith. He’s not accurate, there’s no arm talent, he’s hurt all the time, and the Titans offense got significantly better with Ryan Tannehill who’s really nothing special. What are we doing here? We need to stop pretending Mariota is worth anything more than a bag of chips. Just admit Mike Mayock whiffed again and keep it moving.
