Marcus Mariota signed with Las Vegas Raiders this offseason in an attempt to resurrect his career after years of underwhelming performances in Tennessee. However, Mariota is aware that he won’t get a shot at starting job easily.
In a recent interview with KHON-TV, Mariota acknowledged that Raiders already have a franchise quarterback in Derek Carr.
“First and foremost, this is Derek’s team, and I understand that,” said Mariota. “I understand that going in. My priority going into free agency was to be a part of a team that I felt could bring out the best in me. ”
According to Mariota, he hopes that the Raiders’ QB room will be supportive of each other and give each player a chance to be the best versions of themselves.
“And I’m going to do my best to support Derek in every possible way that I can, and along with that, I’m just going to try to become the best player that I can be and see where that takes me,” he added.
Marcus Mariota entered the league in 2015 as Tennessee Titans’ second overall pick, but never managed to live up to big expectations that came with the high draft position. Although he led the Titans to a playoff win in 2017, Mariota never settled into his role as the franchise quarterback, and his entire career was marked with inconsistency.
Titans eventually decided to move on from Mariota last season, benching him in favor of Ryan Tannehill in Week 6. Tannehill took over the starting job in Week 7 and ended up leading the Titans to AFC Championship. After the season ended, Tennessee signed Tannehill to a big contract while letting Mariota walked out of the door.
Mariota, who was a Heisman Trophy winner in college, has an NFL career completion percentage of 62.9 to go with 13,207 passing yards. He also threw for 76 touchdowns and 44 interceptions.
