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Marcus Mariota’s hair is grayer now than when he entered the NFL as a highly touted prospect and a potential face of a franchise.
He believes everything he has gone through since has set him up to be ready for anything in his next opportunity with the Washington Commanders.
After signing a one-year contract Thursday, Mariota said he’s prepared to play if called upon while also serving as a mentor to the young quarterback who could be coming with the second pick in the draft.
“Whatever this staff, whatever this team needs of me, I’m going to do it to the best of my abilities,” Mariota said on a video call with reporters.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of different things throughout my career. I’ve been a starter, won a playoff game. I’ve also been cut, I’ve also been injured, I’ve also been benched. So, I think all those experiences create value and also creates opportunities for me to build relationships with guys.”
One of those guys could be a rookie at football’s most important position. Washington is in place to select LSU’s Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels, or North Carolina’s Drake Maye if Chicago selects USC’s Caleb Williams first, as expected.
It doesn’t hurt that Mariota was the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft out of Oregon to the Tennessee Titans. Now 30 and with 90 games and 74 pro starts under his belt, he remembers what that was like and could be the perfect person to provide some perspective.
“That expectation for you to be the quote-unquote ‘savior’ and all that is a lot,” Mariota said. “If that’s the way we go, I can provide a little bit of comfort knowing that: Just 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 single day and the rest of it will fall into place.”
Hours after Mariota signed his contract, with a base salary of $6 million that could be worth up to $10 million, the Commanders traded 2023 starter Sam Howell to Seattle in a swap of draft…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/marcus-mariota-joins-the-commanders-ready-to-play-or-mentor-a-young-qb
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Publish date : 2024-03-15 00:16:45
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