Few players whom a team would rather not play hold more value than a backup quarterback.
While Marcus Mariota would be the Washington Commanders' starting quarterback if the season began today, they're positioned to take their quarterback of the future with the No. 2 overall pick, who could also vie to be under center when the 2024 season begins. Regardless of how things shake out for Mariota, the veteran quarterback said he'll be valuable in whichever role he has for Washington.
"I bring a lot of value in a lot of different aspects," Mariota said during his introductory press conference. "If I'm called upon to be ready to play, I'm very confident in that and I'm also very confident in my role as a mentor. Whatever this staff [and] whatever this team needs of me, I'm going to do it to the best of my abilities and ultimately try to win games here."
Mariota was most recently the Philadelphia Eagles' backup quarterback and only appeared in three games. In 2022, he was the Atlanta Falcons' starting quarterback and started 13 games, throwing for 2,219 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Atlanta went 5-8 in the games Mariota started.
Prior to the Falcons, Mariota played sparingly for the Las Vegas Raiders for two seasons and was the Tennesseee Titans' starting quarterback for five-plus seasons before losing the job to Ryan Tannehill six games into the 2019 season.
Given Mariota's experiences from being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and winning a playoff game with the Titans to being benched by them and the Falcons, he's experienced the highs and lows many players go through in the NFL and is ready to help his teammates on the Commanders fight their own battles.
"I've been a starter [and] won a playoff game," Mariota said. "I've also been cut [and] I've also been injured. I've also been benched. All those experiences create value and create opportunities for me to build relationships with guys. I can build with the top guy on the roster to the very bottom of the roster. I think that's important. Sometimes you need guys like myself to be able to glue guys together and be an advocate for the guys."
A veteran quarterback will hold the utmost importance for the Commanders if they draft a player at the position with the No. 2 overall pick. Mariota can fill that role and even start if a rookie quarterback isn't ready to lead the offense by Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Whether he has to start or mentor a rookie quarterback, Mariota said he's ready for whichever role. And given that he was the No. 2 overall pick by the Titans in 2015, there might not be a player better to guide a rookie quarterback for the Commanders than Mariota.
"I think when you're coming in, that expectation for you to be the quote-on-quote savior and all that is a lot. And I think for me now, to be able to have gone through that experience, if that's the way we go, I can provide a little bit of comfort knowing that, you [need to] be your best version of yourself. Don't worry about everything else. Don't worry about the expectations. Just go out there and try to get better every day and the rest of it will fall into place."
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