Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota is entering his second season as a primary backup to Derek Carr on the Las Vegas Raiders, but don’t be surprised to see him on the field more in 2021.
After the suggestion was made by left guard Richie Incognito that Mariota be used in the red zone more this season, it came out through a report from Paul Gutierrez of ESPN that the Raiders are already installing a package of plays for Mariota this season.
“Last year was hard because he was hurt all the time,” Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said of Mariota, who spent the first six weeks of the season on injured reserve with a chest injury. “This complex thing we’re trying to pull off here…we’re not going to call exactly the same plays when Marcus is in the game than when Derek is in the game. You wouldn’t either. That’s why we have a very vast playbook. I think for Marcus to be great, he has to run plays that he’s good at and that he likes.”
Mariota has always excelled near the goal line, posting the best TD-to-INT ratio in the red zone a few years ago. Red zone offense was a big issue for the Raiders under Carr last season, so it is not a surprise to see the team opting to find ways to get Mariota’s accuracy and running ability on the field in key scoring situations.
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