The Indianapolis Colts have to get Philip Rivers to pass a physical before announcing the signing, but they did their due diligence on several players in free agency before making the move. That includes checking in on Marcus Mariota.
The former No. 2 overall pick was phased out of the Titans offense after he gave way to Ryan Tannehill in 2019. The move sparked the Titans to make the playoffs and earn a trip to the AFC Championship game while it was clear Mariota’s time in Nashville was through.
As the Colts were in the market looking to nail down the Rivers signing, they reportedly checked in on Mariota before ultimately going to the veteran, per Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star.
Mariota should have been replaced a long time ago, but the Colts likely viewed him as some competition for Jacoby Brissett. That would have involved a different path at quarterback for the Colts, but they wound up sticking with Rivers.
Mariota wound up agreeing to a deal with the Oakland Raiders before the Colts signed Rivers.
There are still plenty of question marks surrounding the future of the quarterback room, but it appears Mariota was on their radar in some way before they were able to get a deal done with Rivers.