If the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady part ways in 2020, Bill Belichick and Co. could kick the tires on soon-to-be former Tennessee Titans quarterback, Marcus Mariota.
As MMQB’s Albert Breer stated on The Midday 180 show on Wednesday, the Patriots “actually like” Mariota, and he believes the team’s history with going after “reclamation projects” at the position could lead to them signing the Oregon product next month.
Mariota certainly qualifies as a “reclamation project” after he flamed out in Nashville — albeit with some help from a lack of continuity around him over the years — and lost his starting job to fellow signal-caller, Ryan Tannehill.
However, a mutual interest between Mariota and the Pats will greatly depend on what happens with Brady.
Mariota is looking for a chance to start as soon as possible, and Brady hanging around for another two-plus years would be a major roadblock to that cause.
Should Brady move on, the Patriots will likely look for a veteran option under center to compete with Jarrett Stidham, who was the team’s 2019 fourth-round pick and is still a question mark.
While the Pats like Stidham, chances are they’ll want to hedge their bet at quarterback in order to give themselves the best chance to win. A player like Mariota would be a reasonably-priced option to not only push the second-year quarterback, but quite possibly beat him out for the job.
Few free agents hitting the open market need a change of scenery as much as Mariota, and perhaps a change of scenery could help the Oregon product return to the form we saw in 2016 that gave Titans fans so much hope.
Of course, a lot will depend on Mariota staying healthy, the system he’s in, and if the team around him is good enough to give him support. If all of those things fall into place, Mariota could revive his career in 2020.
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