Tag: Marcus Mariota

Dillon Gabriel describes how Marcus Mariota helped in decision to transfer to Oregon

Just a couple of boys from Hawaii, Dillon Gabriel says Marcus Mariota had a huge role to play in his transfer to Oregon.

As soon as Dillon Gabriel entered the transfer portal last December, and the rumors of his transfer to Oregon started gaining traction, comparisons between he and Marcus Mariota, the greatest Oregon Ducks quarterback of all time, were drawn.

With all that Gabriel and Mariota have in common, it’s hard not to draw those parallels. Both are eager to run with the ball, but they’re equally comfortable and competent slinging it from inside the pocket. Both QBs are from the island of Oahu and grew up in towns less than an hour from one another. And of course, they both wear No. 8.

But while the comparisons are fun to draw, it’s important to remember Gabriel and Mariota are their own players. What’s more valuable is the relationship Gabriel and Mariota have fostered.

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After the Ducks practice on Tuesday, Gabriel spoke to media for the first time as an Oregon Duck, and he touched on what it was like to watch Mariota growing up and to have a relationship with him now.

“It was huge,” Gabriel said. “You know, someone you always look up to as a quarterback from Hawaii, that’s something we always watched. I loved turning on the TV and being able to watch him when I was younger, and now having obviously the relationship that we’ve had, and just being able to text back and forth. That’s something you know, as a little kid, I still smile and don’t ever take it for granted. So I’d say in the decision process it was just cool to kind of have that and being able to talk through it together.”

Mariota’s advice to Gabriel hasn’t been limited to what happens on the field. Gabriel mentioned that a lot of Mariota’s help has been about acclimating to a new school and city.

“Yeah. I think more on the lifestyle side, you know,” Gabriel said. “Our moms have connected and you know, they’re just a great family. So it’s been super helpful in terms of, you know, where to stay, what to do, and how to navigate food spots and stuff like that. So I think the little things like that help.”

There haven’t been many players to wear No. 8 since Mariota’s time as a Duck, so it will be hard not to see echoes of the former Heisman Trophy winner when Gabriel takes the field next fall. But the pressure of wearing No. 8 is something Gabriel welcomes.

“Yeah, I love it,” Gabriel said. “You know, it’s something that you want, and that’s why you come here. I think initially, wearing the No. 8, I think I didn’t want to in the sense that you know, I have so much respect for Marcus and what he’s done and you know that’s the guy I’ve always looked up to. But also being able to wear it’s even better so super excited for that.”

Throughout the offseason, Gabriel has been named as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Since Mariota won the award in 2014, Justin Herbert and Bo Nix have been in reach of the Heisman Trophy but have fallen short. Mariota is the only Heisman winner in Oregon’s history, so if Gabriel were to win it would do a lot for the Ducks’ program.

What will be on Gabriel’s mind far more next season than the Heisman Trophy is winning a national championship. As it stands, the 2024 Ducks are the best team Oregon has ever had on paper, so winning the last game of the season is an attainable goal.

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Commanders WR Terry McLaurin remains a believer in Sam Howell

Terry McLaurin believes the future is still bright for Sam Howell.

At this time last offseason, head coach then-Washington head coach Ron Rivera and multiple players were singing the praises of rising second-year quarterback Sam Howell. After an impressive first start during the 2022 regular-season finale against Dallas, Rivera chose to give Howell the reins at quarterback in 2023.

One of those who believed in Howell from the start was star wide receiver Terry McLaurin. Throughout the offseason, McLaurin spoke of Howell’s work ethic and progress.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as Rivera had hoped in 2023. Washington won four games, and after an impressive first half of the season, Howell struggled in the second half of the season. While he did start all 17 games, he was benched twice late in the season.

The Commanders fired Rivera in January, hiring Adam Peters as the new general manager and Dan Quinn as the head coach. Once free agency kicked off last month, Peters began flipping the roster. One of those moves was trading Howell to Seattle in a pick swap. With a new quarterback coming in via the 2024 NFL draft, the Commanders gave Howell a fresh start, opting to sign veteran Marcus Mariota to pair with a rookie.

Washington began its offseason program this week, and players are excited about the new regime. McLaurin is among those excited but discussed his former quarterback. The star wideout still believes Howell has a bright future ahead of him.

“It’s always tough seeing someone you build a really good relationship with move on in their career,” McLaurin said. “Especially your quarterback, because as a receiver, you want to continue to try to build that chemistry. That was only our first year playing with one another, and I feel like him and I made some great plays, and we had some room for growth, and I think that comes with any new quarterback/receiver relationship.”

As for Howell’s future, McLaurin sees a good opportunity for him in Seattle.

“To see him go in a situation to have a chance to compete and play under a really good quarterback in Geno (Smith). I think he’ll really like throwing to receivers like (Tyler) Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and DK (Metcalf). So I think he’s going to a situation where he’ll have a chance to continue to show that he can play quarterback at a high level in this league, which I still truly believe.”

McLaurin not only believes in Howell as a player, but has a tremendous amount of respect for him after a difficult season in which Howell was essentially thrown to the wolves at times.

“I’ll always have a lot of respect for Sam, how he handled things good and bad last year,” McLaurin said. “I think he took a really big step in his career to continue to prove that he can play at a high level.”

You can watch McLaurin’s entire media session below, where he talks Dan Quinn, Curtis Samuel and his feelings about the new regime.

Marcus Mariota will make history with the Commanders in 2024

Mariota will make history in 2024.

New Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota will make history in 2024. After signing over 20 outside free agents, the Commanders announced jersey numbers for their new players this week.

The veteran quarterback will wear No. 0 next season, making Mariota the first quarterback in NFL history to wear that number.

The NFL relaxed its rules regarding jersey numbers in 2021 and brought back No. 0 in 2023. There were 22 players who wore the number throughout the league last season, but no quarterbacks. That changes with Mariota, who has always worn No. 8 in his NFL career, excluding one season in Atlanta, but that number belongs to running back Brian Robinson Jr. in Washington.

Mariota signed with Washington last month after spending the 2023 season in Philadelphia as Jalen Hurts’ backup. In 2022, He played for the Falcons, starting 13 games. Prior to his time in Atlanta, Mariota played two years for the Raiders after spending the first five seasons of his career with the Titans, who drafted him No. 2 overall back in 2015.

Mariota will enter his 10th NFL season in 2024. He has played in 90 career games, making 74 starts and completing 62.7% of his passes for over 15,000 yards, with 93 touchdown passes and 55 interceptions. Mariota has also rushed for 2,064 yards and 17 touchdowns.

PFF lists Titans among NFL’s worst with 1st-round picks since 2014

Unsurprisingly, the Titans were listed as one of the worst teams in the NFL when it comes to their first-round picks since 2014.

The Tennessee Titans hope that general manager Ran Carthon can change the narrative surrounding the team’s inability to hit on first-round draft picks, which was a glaring issue during the Jon Robinson era.

Over the last decade, the team has had mixed results from its first-round selections, and things have been particularly bad since Tennessee hit on Jeffery Simmons in 2019.

Pro Football Focus‘ Sam Monson included the Titans among the worst franchises at using their first-round picks. Here was part of his analysis:

Tennessee’s recent run of first-round selections includes all-time busts for a variety of reasons. Isaiah Wilson played three snaps for the team before off-field concerns led to his departure. Caleb Farley was immediately struck by serious injury and has played only 164 snaps over his three-year NFL career.

Treylon Burks was put in the unenviable position of needing to replace what the team traded away in A.J. Brown, and he has been completely unable to do so thus far. Jack Conklin was a good player for the team but left in free agency, as did Corey Davis. Marcus Mariota started for a while but was ultimately benched for performance reasons.

Monson rightly notes that Simmons has developed into one of the best interior defenders in the National Football League. Still, he has been the outlier in the Titans’ first-round picks since 2014.

Coming out of Georgia, Wilson had all the makings and the skill set to be a ten-year starter in the NFL. In his final season with the Bulldogs, he played in 11 games and was responsible for just one sack allowed, per PFF.

The Titans were hopeful he could be a pillar when they drafted him 29th overall in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft. However, his tenure in Nashville was short, to say the least.

Wilson continued to have issues in short stints with the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants before being out of the league entirely.

The red flags were there for Farley. The defensive back suffered a torn ACL and missed the 2017 season at Virginia Tech. He also missed time in 2019 with a back injury.

Injuries have plagued his NFL career, with Farley suffering a torn ACL in Week 6 of his rookie campaign. The following season, Farley was shut down in November after undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disc.

He missed all of last season with lingering a nerve issue while recovering from back surgery and has played only 12 games. Even when he’s been on the field, Farley hasn’t been good.

Of the Titans’ eight first-round picks from 2014-20, only four had their fifth-year option picked up, including Adoree’ Jackson, Marcus Mariota, Taylor Lewan and Simmons — and Jackson was released before playing on it.

Of those four, only two received a second contract (Simmons and Lewan). Farley and wide receiver Treylon Burks are currently both on pace to not have their options picked up or stick around for another contract.

Carthon hopes to reverse the fortunes of Tennessee’s first-round selections, with his first attempt coming in the form of left guard Peter Skoronski, who had a promising first season in the NFL after being drafted in 2023.

The Titans hold the No. 7 overall pick in April’s draft and if Carthon can hit on it, and Skoronski continues to improve, he’ll be off to one heck of a start.

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Did the Seahawks or Commanders get the better end of the Sam Howell trade?

Another viewpoint on the Commanders’ trade of Sam Howell.

The Washington Commanders traded quarterback Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month in a pick swap that gave Washington the No. 78 overall pick in next month’s 2024 NFL draft.

Seattle gave the Commanders third and fifth-round choices in exchange for fourth and sixth-round picks. Most liked the trade for both teams. Howell, who started all 17 games last season, wouldn’t start for the Commanders in 2024 with a new regime. Holding the No. 2 overall pick gave Washington a chance to draft its quarterback for the future.

From the Commanders’ perspective, it gave them another day-two pick to surround their next quarterback. As for Seattle, it was a small price to pay for a backup quarterback with starting experience. The Seahawks have veteran Geno Smith at quarterback, but some believe Howell could push him.

While most loved the trade for the Commanders, Kevin Patra of NFL.com saw things differently.

He gave the Seahawks an A- and the Commanders a C+.

I like this move by Seattle after Drew Lock left for the New York Giants. The Seahawks received a backup QB with starting experience by moving down a couple of rounds. That’s smart shopping. Not only that, but Howell will count less than $1 million on the cap in 2024 and $1.1 million in 2025, per Over The Cap. Howell played well in spurts, but things started to unravel down the stretch as defenses got more tape on the UNC product. The start of his career has some parallels to Lock’s. Howell turned it over a lot (as did Lock), including 21 INTs in 17 starts in 2023, but he also put up nearly 4,000 yards passing behind a bad offensive line. If Geno Smith gets injured, Howell has enough game play to keep the ship from sinking. The 23-year-old’s skill set should also mesh well with OC Ryan Grubb. Given the low cost — in picks and dollars — Howell’s presence also wouldn’t stop Seattle from adding a rookie QB to the mix this year or next.

The market for backup quarterbacks wasn’t great, particularly given how many we saw play significant snaps last season. Netting a 24-spot move-up and a 27-spot move-up in this year’s draft barely moves the needle for a QB with 18 games of starting experience. Yet, Howell was a former fifth-round pick, not a first-rounder like others who were traded this offseason. The move clears the way for Washington to use the No. 2 overall pick on a quarterback with Marcus Mariota as the veteran mentor. Given the film Mariota put up the past couple of seasons, I’d rather have Howell available if my backup needed actually to play, but from an experience/mentor standpoint, the Commanders’ decision is understandable. The deal also gives Washington six picks in the top 100, which is needed ammo for a club that still requires depth and playmaking after a busy free-agency period.

Patra isn’t wrong here. Many others believed there were better backup options than Mariota, and if you had Howell under a cheap contract for two more seasons, then why not keep him?

The Commanders and general manager, Adam Peters, view Mariota as a perfect mentor/backup. Mariota is a former No. 2 overall pick and has had his highs and lows since entering the NFL. It’s important to remember no one knows if Mariota was Washington’s first choice for a veteran backup.

Howell belongs in the NFL. There is still the potential for him to be a starting quarterback, but that wasn’t happening in Washington. Ultimately, this was a good deal for both sides.

Why did the Commanders sign Marcus Mariota?

Some perspective on why the Commanders chose to sign Marcus Mariota.

Of all the signings in the first two weeks of free agency, there was one Commanders’ signing that surprised me the most.

Perhaps might that one signing also have surprised many others who follow the Commanders? No doubt, the name that surprised me most was quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Drafted second overall in the 2015 NFL draft, it has not gone well for Mariota, who was never able to live up to the expectations placed upon him. Thus, the former Oregon Duck has played for four NFL franchises, and the Commanders will be number five.

The former Tennessee Titan, Oakland Raider, Atlanta Falcon, and Philadelphia Eagle will turn 31 in October. When he was signed by Washington, speculation immediately rose about the future of Sam Howell in Washington. Sure enough, two days later, Howell was traded to the Seahawks.

So why would the Commanders sign a quarterback who will be playing for his fourth team in the last four NFL seasons?

Former Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot, during the latest “Get Loud” podcast, was recently asked a very similar question by Michael English. Smoot responded, “Veteran, teacher, nurturer, big brother, uncle, protector. He was brought here to re-ensure and reinforce coaching. He was brought here to teach a younger quarterback what NOT to do,” emphasized Smoot.

“Perfect timing by the team… a former No. 2 pick going to be helping another No. 2 pick figure it out. As a person who had Darrell Green waiting on me when I got here and Champ Bailey, made it easy for Fred Smoot to step in and be a starter from day one. I had great DB coaching, but I had even greater player coaching.”

“You don’t need to be the best player to be a good teacher. Marcus is in more than a better place to teach this kid everything he needs to know about this game. (He can teach) every responsibility on the field, off of the field. How to not only be a pro, but almost be a politician, because that is what you are as the quarterback.”

No, it did not end well for Mariota in Atlanta (2022). Yet, his Offensive coordinator, Brian Johnson, in Philadelphia for 2023, must have seen enough good in Mariota last year in Philly to give the green light to Quinn and Peters to bring Mariota to Washington.

Where do the Eagles rank in spending at each position after first wave of free agency?

We’re looking at where the Philadelphia Eagles rank in positional spending at each position after the first wave of NFL free agency

The Eagles have retooled their roster on both sides of the football after inking DE Bryce Huff, RB Saquon Barkley, OLB Zach Baun, OL Matt Hennessy, WR DeVante Parker, S/CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson, LB Devin White, LB Oren Burks, DT PJ Mustipher, WR Parris Campbell, and CB Tyler Hall to deals during the first wave.

Philadelphia then traded for quarterback Kenny Pickett while extending Landon Dickerson and Jake Elliott. 

Philadelphia currently has about  $33,657,986 in cap space per Over The Cap, and they’re spending about $100+ million plus on both sides of the football.  The offensive line and edge rusher positions carry the most significant cap space.

Overall positional spending has changed tremendously since Jalen Hurts signed a massive five-year, $255 million contract extension last spring.

This makes him among the four highest-paid players on average in NFL history.

The Eagles will again be a Super Bowl favorite in the NFC and have one of the most talented rosters despite being 17th in average positional spending.

Thanks to Over The Cap, here’s where Philadelphia sits in positional spending on both sides of the ball ahead of the season opener.

Updated status of every Eagles free agent after first wave of free agency

We’re looking at the status of every Philadelphia Eagles free agent after the first wave of NFL free agency signings

The offseason is in full swing, particularly for the Philadelphia Eagles, who have already made several roster and coaching moves this spring. Eagles GM Howie Roseman started free agency with a bang, agreeing to deals with Saquon Barkley (RB) and Bryce Huff (DE) while retaining Josh Sweat and punter Braden Mann. Philadelphia then signed Landon Dickerson to a monster contract extension and C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a three-year deal. The Eagles have been in nonstop action so far, and we’re taking an updated look at the current status of Philadelphia’s initial group of free agents.

What did Ron Rivera think of the Sam Howell trade?

Ron Rivera also has an idea on which quarterback the Commanders like at No. 2.

At this time, one year ago, a desperate Ron Rivera staked his future on the right arm of young quarterback Sam Howell. Entering a critical fourth season as head coach of the Washington Commanders, Rivera had struck out on previous quarterbacks and decided to roll the dice with his 2022 fifth-round pick.

With limited funds due to a pending ownership change, Rivera was unable to improve the Commanders around Howell last offseason. Instead, he hoped new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy could spark Washington’s offense.

It didn’t work. The Commanders finished 4-13, and Bieniemy led an offense with the most passing attempts in the NFL — and the fewest rushing attempts — as they lost their final eight games.

Howell did some good things for Washington, at times making Rivera look like his gamble would pay off. Unfortunately, Howell struggled badly in the second half of the season. He was benched twice and finished with as many interceptions (21) as touchdowns (21).

The Commanders moved on from Rivera and hired Adam Peters as the general manager. Peters hired Dan Quinn to replace Rivera.

Last week, Washington moved on from Howell, sending him to the Seattle Seahawks in a pick swap that netted the Commanders Seattle’s third-round pick.

Rivera is now a member of ESPN, making his debut earlier this month. Last week, he was a guest on “You Better You Bet” on BetQL, discussing the Commanders moving on from Howell. 

“Well, I think it was a smart move for both teams,” Rivera said. “Just because of the way the draft picks were traded. It gives the Commanders, I believe, six in the first two days, which is outstanding. And then you look at what Seattle gets; Seattle gets probably, who is gonna be a solid backup that has the ability to be a starter in this league. And I really like what they’ve done. Now you know, with Geno as their starter, gives them a guy, in case something happens, can come in and, I think, do a nice job running their offense for them.”

Remember what Rivera said about Howell last offseason and in the early weeks of the 2023 season? That sure sounds like a different tone. He still praised Howell but made sure to use the term “backup.”

Who does Rivera think Peters and the Commanders will select at No. 2 overall in next month’s NFL draft?

In his first episode on “NFL Live” earlier this month, Rivera linked LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels to the Commanders. Rivera referenced new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and the style of offense he wants to run as a reason he believes Daniels will be Washington’s pick.

He reiterated that stance in this interview.

“Oh, I think they go with Jayden Daniels,” Rivera said of Washington. “This is about who’s going to fit that style of offense that Kliff Kingsbury is bringing to town. That’s why they went out and signed Marcus Mariota, and I think that’s what you’re going to get. I really do. I think that’s the kind of player they’re looking for, and I think he’s dynamic enough.”

Washington fans will likely roll their eyes at Rivera’s thoughts. In fairness, he was asked the question. The Daniels’ connections to Washington make sense, as do the Drake Maye ties. When everyone mentions mobility, they apparently forget that Maye is pretty mobile, too, and offers a higher upside as a passer.

Commanders to sign former Eagles QB Marcus Mariota to a 1-year, $6 million deal

The Washington Commanders are signing Marcus Mariota to a one-year deal

Brian Johnson has already taken his talents to Washington, and he’ll have a familiar name after Marcus Mariota signed a one-year, $6 million deal.

Mariota appeared in just three regular-season games as the Eagles’ backup quarterback this season, completing 15 of 23 passes for 164 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

All but three of Mariota’s passes came in Week 18.

He’ll join Sam Howell as the only two quarterbacks on the Washington roster, while new head coach Dan Quinn has the No. 3 overall pick in April’s NFL draft.