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Las Vegas Raiders backup QB Marcus Mariota.
Regardless of the narrative that the Las Vegas Raiders have large plans for Marcus Mariota, the group has made it clear that he was introduced in to be a backup. Las Vegas like Derek Carr sufficient to offer him the beginning gig for at the least yet one more yr. Except he completely flops this yr or will get injured, Mariota in all probability gained’t be seeing the sphere a lot.
That mentioned, it’s no secret that each Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock have been huge followers of Mariota when he was heading into the draft. He has had a really uneven profession thus far and if he spends the remainder of his years as a backup, there’s little doubt he’s one of many greater draft busts of the 2010s. It was a sensible transfer for him to go the Raiders as a result of Gruden likes to try to rehabilitate quarterbacks. Additionally, it seems Mariota was already exhibiting enchancment earlier than the top of final season.
Logan Ryan Says Mariota Was ‘Killing’ Titans Protection
When the Tennessee Titans benched Mariota in favor of Ryan Tannehill, their season utterly rotated and made all of it the best way to the AFC Championship sport. It was clear after that run that Mariota’s time in Tennessee was over. Nevertheless, former Titans cornerback Logan Ryan gave some actually fascinating perception into how the quarterback reacted to getting benched.
“He began killing us each single week,” Ryan informed “The Double Protection” podcast. “Like, he began ripping us in follow. Marcus Mariota was the follow quarterback and he was destroying us. And it made us higher.”
Now, the Titans statistically had a worse cross protection than the Raiders did final season, so the actual fact the Mariota was tearing it up doesn’t essentially imply he’s turned a brand new leaf. That mentioned, it does present the sort of character he brings the group. Regardless of getting benched, he nonetheless performed onerous. That sort of dedication is strictly what Carr wants behind him this season.
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Generally a Change of Surroundings Is Wanted
Simply because Mariota’s previous couple of years in Tennessee weren’t good doesn’t imply his expertise disappeared. Tannehill is an ideal instance of how a change of surroundings can revamp an NFL profession. Mariota may simply be one and completed with the Raiders and by no means play a sport, however he may additionally become the quarterback of the long run similar to Tannehill seems to be with the Titans.
Carr will get a number of pointless criticism and he’s actually a greater quarterback than he’s given credit score for. Mariota isn’t going to have a straightforward time attempting to take his job and there’s a powerful likelihood he by no means will. Nevertheless, if Carr is underwhelming this season, the Raiders may have a really fascinating resolution on their arms in some unspecified time in the future. On the floor, it’s onerous to not see the Mariota-Wealthy Gannon comparability. If Gruden appears like he discovered the second coming of Gannon, Carr can be in a number of hassle.
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