Marcus Mariota has been linked to the Philadelphia Eagles organization dating back to the Chip Kelly era. The latter coached Mariota in college at the University of Oregon. The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback only played two years under Kelly for the Ducks. The rest of the time, he played under Offensive Coordinator turned Head Coach, now broadcaster Mark Helfrich.
The 29-year-old signal-caller has been around the NFL, and has not had the amount of success that he wants to as a starter. The former No. 2 overall pick agreed to a one-year deal worth $5MM, with Schefter adding it can max out at $8MM. Mariota will essentially replace Gardner Minshew II as the backup for Jalen Hurts. The good news is that the skillsets between Hurts and Mariota are essentially the same, whereas Minshew’s differed.
A season ago, Marcus Mariota saw an extended amount of work as a starter. He helped the Falcons rank third in the NFL in rushing.
Hurts has suffered multiple injuries over the past couple of seasons. So now, having a backup quarterback that matches the play style of the team could bode well. That is if the Eagles remain with the same play style. Minshew is following former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Titans drafted Mariota back in 2015, but the Eagles — then led by ex-Oregon coach Chip Kelly — tried to trade up to that No. 2 spot for Kelly’s ex-Ducks pupil. The efforts were unsuccessful which eventually led not only to Kelly losing his job, but Mariota was out as the starter in Tennessee after four years.
Mariota is reuniting with Arthur Smith who was the offensive coordinator in Tennessee during that time. Smith and the Titans stayed with Mariota even with fans calling for him to be benched in favor of Ryan Tannehill.
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