A.J. Brown reacted to the news of Marcus Mariota agreeing to terms with the Raiders.
Marcus Mariota has reportedly agreed to terms on a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, and so ends his tenure with the Tennessee Titans.
Once he learned of the news, Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown, who played with Mariota for the first six games of the 2019 season, had high praise for the former No. 2 overall pick.
Brown totaled one of his five 100-yard receiving games last season with Mariota under center, which came during the Week 1 win against the Cleveland Browns.
Of course, Mariota was eventually replaced with Ryan Tannehill in Week 7, and that’s when Brown really took off.
Mariota leaving is bittersweet. While he has become a fan-favorite in Nashville for many reasons, clearly things didn’t work out for him with the Titans and it’s time for the Oregon product to get a change of scenery.
There’s no doubt that Mariota’s former teammates and fans of the team will be rooting for him, as long as his success doesn’t negatively impact the Titans.
While Mariota certainly had his fair share of struggles in Nashville, there is reason to hope that things can get better with the Raiders in Las Vegas.
Let’s break down why this was the right move for both sides.
What happened in Tennessee?
There are several answers to this question.
On top of dealing with injuries and not having a lot of talent around him for much of his career, the Titans also saw a revolving door at head coach and offensive coordinator during his five-year tenure. That’s a difficult thing to overcome for any young quarterback.
It really wasn’t until 2019 that Mariota had his best supporting cast, and even then his offensive line performed as one of the worst in the NFL in the six games he started.
It also didn’t help that Mariota held on to the ball for too long and missed some easy throws, which only exacerbated his problems before getting benched.
Overall, Mariota just looked like he had lost his confidence and simply wasn’t the same signal-caller we saw in his first few seasons in the NFL. We’ll see if a change of scenery helps to change that.
Marcus Mariota is headed to the Vegas strip, to play for Jon Gruden. Does this marriage make sense?
While the big dominoes in the quarterback free agency market have yet to fall, the biggest so far made a move late on Monday night. Marcus Mariota, formerly of the Tennessee Titans and once the second overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, agreed to terms with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The @Raiders have come to terms with Marcus Mariota
Mariota never seemed to put it all together during his time with the Titans. A combination of bad injury luck and playing for five different offensive coordinators likely played a huge role in that, but Mariota also struggled to play at a consistent level for the Tennessee offense. He was sidelined this season due to ineffective play, and his maddening inconsistency was a frustrating thing to see for those who were believers in Mariota prior to the 2015 NFL Draft.
Like, the author of this piece.
You can just focus in on one trait from Mariota, anticipation, and see how quickly he went from being a solid NFL quarterback to someone who needed to be replaced. Take this throw from Week 4 of this season, against the Atlanta Falcons:
Man, the anticipation on this TD throw from Mariota is just a thing of beauty. pic.twitter.com/ZU2uHj8ihK
The anticipation on this throw is sublime. But think of everything Mariota needs to do to make this throw. Read the defense quickly, diagnose the coverage, and speed up his drop to get the ball out well before the break.
The next week against the Buffalo Bills? That anticipation is gone:
Mariota gets sacked here because he fails to pull the trigger on an anticipation throw. He wants to throw an in-cut to the slot receiver, but the robber coverage employed by the Bills on this play takes that route out of the equation. Mariota then transitions to the bunch formation look and locks onto an out pattern, but that decision comes much too late. If he speeds up his process and makes an anticipation throw, that pass can be completed. Instead, the quarterback is sacked.
Then against the Denver Broncos in Week 6, Mariota is sent to the bench. Plays like this probably doomed his fate in Mike Vrabel’s eyes:
Mariota here falls victim to one of the classic blunders at the quarterback position: Throwing late over the middle. Later in the game he throws his second interception – that play was more a function of his arm being hit while throwing – and Vrabel had seen enough.
Now, could this work for him in Las Vegas with Jon Gruden?
This off-season I have been making the case that the best fit for Mariota was with Matt Nagy and the Chicago Bears. To quote myself for a moment:
This is a concept I expounded upon over at the RSP this summer when I talked about the idea of quarterbacks being either “Bakers or Chefs.” The idea is basically the same. Some quarterbacks are bakers, and they are great at following the directions step by step. If, however, they try to get creative, they struggle. Or they are so set in checking off the boxes that they miss on opportunities to create. Kirk Cousins was the baker example that I used.
Other quarterbacks, like say Patrick Mahomes, are chefs. They are willing to create, and sometimes they might get burned; other times, what they end up concocting is something incredible.
Nagy’s offense badly needs a baker, someone who will just work through the reads and check off the boxes and make the right decisions with the football. Trubisky’s difficulties in this area have hamstrung Nagy’s offense and held the team back to the point where they might miss out on a potential Super Bowl window. Nagy has tried different things with his quarterback, but he cannot get the offense to a point where it can be effective enough to complement a formidable defense.
Those same principles apply to what Mariota will be asked to do in Jon Gruden’s offense. Remember, Nagy is a branch off the Gruden/West Coast coaching tree. The elements of Nagy’s offense that made Mariota a schematic fit will certainly be in place when the former Oregon Duck moves to Sin City.
Thinking about this potential marriage brought my mind back to the lead-up to the 2015 NFL Draft. One of the downsides to Gruden returning to coaching was the fact that “Gruden’s QB Camp” would no longer air. That show was fantastic, with Gruden sitting down with top draft quarterbacks in front of the whiteboard to break down concepts, and then heading to the field with them to work on some different drills.
Watch this segment, with Mariota coaching Gruden up on Oregon’s “Bubble Y Over” concept, and tell me these two cannot work together in the NFL:
My favorite part of this segment is where Gruden gets on the board and walks Mariota through one of his designs: “Strong Right Slot Z Right Spider 2 Y Banana Z Over.” Of course, the “Spider 2 Y Banana” makes for great internet content, but seeing Gruden break this down for Mariota, and seeing the young QB take it all in, then run it on the field, was mesmerizing.
Gruden’s offense – much like Nagy’s – needs a quarterback who will work through the recipe and bring the coach’s vision to life. Derek Carr can do that as well, but one thinks that Gruden will give Mariota a chance to push Carr for the starting job come training camp. Mariota might finally find himself in a system that fits who he is as a passer, and with time he could finally find some stability in a scheme that could bring the best quarterback out of him.
Another aspect to consider is his new general manager. Back in 2015 Mike Mayock was the lead draft analyst with the NFL Network. His top quarterback in that class? It was not the player selected first, Jameis Winston. It was the guy who went second: Mariota.
Part of the reason Mayock liked him? Scheme fit. As he said at the time: “I appreciated what he’s been asked to do in their version of the spread offense. He reads combination routes. He takes tremendous care of the football and he wins games. He’s not as natural a thrower, but in the correct scheme, I think he can be productive.”
Given the terms, the schematic fit, and what the Raiders are building around the quarterback position, this marriage looks right on the surface.
Mariota started the 2019 season as the Titans’ starter, but lost his job after Week 6 to Ryan Tannehill. Mariota’s departure from Tennessee was inevitable once that happened, and now the Oregon product appears to have a new home.
Mariota will enter a situation in Las Vegas in which there is already a starting quarterback in place, but Derek Carr is thought to be vulnerable, which gives him at least a shot of getting a starting job.
This is the exact situation Tannehill walked into when he was traded to the Titans last offseason. Now Mariota will have a chance to do what Tannehill did in Tennessee and revive his career by unseating the starter in Vegas.
When he was coming out of college, two of Mariota’s biggest fans were Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden, who are now the general manager and head coach of the Raiders, respectively.
Another positive with this move is that Mariota will be closer to his home state of Hawaii and his alma mater, the University of Oregon. All in all, this move makes a ton of sense for him.
Marcus Mariota and the Raiders are reportedly close to a deal.
The Las Vegas Raiders and soon-to-be former Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota are reportedly close to agreeing to a deal.
The news comes from NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
The #Raiders are pushing to close out a deal with QB Marcus Mariota, sources tell me and @RapSheet. Mike Mayock's No. 1-ranked QB in his @nflnetwork coverage leading up to the 2015 Draft could soon be on his roster.
Mariota was the Titans’ No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and spent five seasons with the team. He entered the 2019 season as the Titans’ starter, but was unseated by Ryan Tannehill after six games.
When looking for a new team, Mariota was always going to try and land with one that gives him a chance to start in 2020, and the Raiders qualify as one of those teams.
Despite having a starter in place in Derek Carr, there is a thought that he is vulnerable and could be replaced should he struggle next season.
The #Raiders have had eyes on Marcus Mariota, the former #Titans first-round pick, for some time. Sounds like he has a landing spot. https://t.co/jgkwCHYddm
This move also makes sense for Mariota geographically. Not only is the Oregon product closer to his alma mater should he go to Vegas, but he’s also closer to his home state of Hawaii.
Ryan Tannehill is proof that Marcus Mariota can turn his career around.
He might be down and out now, but soon-to-be former Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota isn’t finished, and if recent events have shown us anything, he’s not finished by a long shot.
If you need proof, look no further than current Titans quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, who unseated Mariota as the starter after the Week 6 game last season.
After being discarded by the Miami Dolphins in an offseason trade with the Titans and having many writing his career off as a bust, Tannehill had a resurgent 2019 season.
Not only did Tannehill have one of the best seasons of any player at his position, he also led the Titans to the playoffs after a 2-4 start and won Comeback Player of the Year.
For his efforts, Tannehill received a massive contract extension from the Titans on Sunday that locks him in as the team’s franchise quarterback and pays him $118 million over four years.
My, how far we’ve come.
Tannehill always had the talent, but there’s no question that fitting into the right system run by offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was a big difference-maker for him.
As Mariota looks for a new home in 2020, he should absolutely follow the blueprint that Tannehill has laid out.
And that blueprint should not only have Mariota looking for a team that has a vulnerability at quarterback, but also the right system that can fit his skill set in order to get the most out of him.
Clearly the latter never really happened in Tennessee and the former No. 2 overall pick can’t afford to have that happen again.
Wherever he ends up, nobody should be writing Mariota off yet. Just like his good friend in Nashville, the Oregon product can revive his career in the right situation — he just has to find it first.
Drawing upon Andersen’s “The Ugly Ducking,” Touchdown Wire highlights eleven players who could thrive in a new situation come next season.
So they felt quite at home. But the poor duckling who had been the last one out of his egg, and who looked so ugly, was pecked and pushed about and made fun of by the ducks, and the chickens as well. “He’s too big,” said they all. The turkey gobbler, who thought himself an emperor because he was born wearing spurs, puffed up like a ship under full sail and bore down upon him, gobbling and gobbling until he was red in the face. The poor duckling did not know where he dared stand or where he dared walk. He was so sad because he was so desperately ugly, and because he was the laughing stock of the whole barnyard.
-Hans Christian Andersen: “The Ugly Duckling”
We all remember the tale, although perhaps some of us are more removed from elementary school than others. Back in 1843 Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen penned the tale of “The Ugly Duckling,” which told the story of a small bird born in a barnyard who suffered abuse from the others around him until he matures into a beautiful swan, stunning those who previously mocked and ridiculed him.
With the start of free agency in the National Football League upon us, there are some potential ugly ducklings waiting to hear the phone ring. Players who perhaps need a change or scenery, a new scheme fit, different coaching or just another shot to become the players they can be. The league’s own versions of the Andersen classic. Here are 11 potential swans for the 2020 NFL season, listed with either their current or their most recent team.
Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
As we await word on what Bruce Arians will do with his current quarterback, it is important to remember that if he moves on from Tampa Bay or not, Jameis Winston is going to need a bit more development to be a solid and consistent NFL quarterback.
Last season, in Arians’ vertical-based passing offense, Winston had quite the roller-coaster ride. Sure, he threw for 5,109 yards, the most in the league. Sure, he threw 33 touchdowns, second only to Lamar Jackson. But when you move away from some of these counting statistics you get the full picture of Winston’s 2019 campaign. His NFL quarterback rating of 84.3 placed him 26th in the league, behind Daniel Jones, Jacoby Brissett, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh Allen and even Joe Flacco. His Adjusted Net Yards Per Attempt (ANY/A) of 6.15 was good for 18th in the league, and his interception percentage of 4.8 was the highest in the league.
Due to another counting stat: His league-high 30 interceptions.
That big number might force Arians to move on from Winston, but when you pour through his film from a season ago, you might find some of what you see. For example, take this deep shot to Mike Evans against the Carolina Panthers:
Facing a first-and-10 against the Panthers, Tampa Bay lines up with Winston under center and with a tight bunch to the right. Evans is isolated to the left. The Buccaneers run a vertical concept sometimes termed 969, with dual go routes on the outside and a dig route in the middle of the field. Winston sees the Panthers in single-high coverage and comes to Evans on the go route. The receiver does an excellent job with his release off the line and gets to the outside, quickly beating the press coverage and getting open for his QB. Combine the release and route with a perfect throw, and Tampa Bay has a big play.
And yes, every route was open on this snap, just to be clear.
Then there was this read and throw in the red zone, also against the Panthers:
To the three-receiver side the Buccaneers run a Dino – or double post – concept with O.J. Howard and Chris Godwin. Evans runs a go route on the backside of the passing concept. Concerned with Evans, the one safety drops to help over the top of a potential vertical route. That creates dual one-on-one matchups backside, with no inside help on either post route.
The concern over Evans draws potential safety help away from the three-receiver side of the formation, and leaves both the backside safety and backside corner on islands with no help to the inside. Winston throws a strike, and the Buccaneers are in the end zone.
Winston might have racked up the interceptions a season ago, but reads and throws like this show he still has promise in a vertical-based passing offense. That would make him still a fit for what Arians runs, but if he does have to find a new home, there is a ton of potential for his next offensive coordinator to mold and sculpt.
We’re three days away from the NFL’s legal tampering window, which opens at noon on Monday. And Brady is set to enter free agency for the first time in his career. Anything is possible for Brady. Anything is possible for the Patriots. At the moment, there is little indication of whether they’ll reunite. There’s also little indication they won’t.
While we’ve waited for Brady’s decision, we’ve considered every possible landing spot. And we’ve considered a lot of options at quarterback for the Patriots. Now is the final opportunity to consider every option. Bill Belichick is definitely doing just that. He’s weighing the draft, the trade market and the free agency options. So let’s do the same. Let’s look at all 27 quarterbacks that we can think of as options for New England.
We’ve ranked them in order of desirability, while weighing the cost of the quarterback in contract dollars and, when applicable, in trade costs.
Not impossible
27. Nick Mullens, 49ers: (Trade) He’s not a high-end starter, but perhaps offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels would get Mullens in the building to see if he could serve as a starter for a year or two while the Patriots prepare for Jarrett Stidham or another young quarterback to take over the job.
26. Jacob Eason, Washington: (Draft)Â He’s got the arm talent that some evaluators fawn over. But the Patriots aren’t usually among those talent evaluators. Eason is pegged as one of the five best quarterbacks in the draft, but he’s probably not going to be ready to start in his first year in the NFL, with his intellect and mechanics needing work, even with his physical abilities.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
25. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma: (Draft)Â Hurts’ draft stock hasn’t soared like many of the other quarterbacks in this draft. There’s a chance the Patriots could land him in the third round or later. And that might actually appeal to them as they consider a quarterback, because the Eason is getting first-round hype, which is probably undeserving. Even if Hurts does fall to the Patriots are a reasonable draft position, he probably won’t be ready to start in 2020.
24. Nick Foles, Jaguars: (Trade) The Jaguars seem to be toying with the idea of parting ways with Foles. Quarterback Gardner Minshew showed enough promise for Jacksonville to hand him the starting job. After a trade, Foles’ contract would shrink to about $16 million in 2020 with an out before the 2021 season. His deal really isn’t all that different than that of Andy Dalton’s, another quarterback who the media is connecting to the Patriots.
Billie Weiss/Getty Images
23. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dolphins: (Trade) Belichick has always had a thing for Fitzmagic, who is just 3-10 against the Patriots. But if the Dolphins decide to move on with Josh Rosen and/or a top draft pick, then Fitzpatrick would be available for a low cost. And while McDaniels probably wouldn’t be in love with the idea of Fitz, he’s also an NFL enigma. Who the heck knows which offensive coordinator secretly loves him?
22. Joe Flacco, Broncos: (Pending release) He seems an awful lot like a washed option. But he is an option, and it’s easy to image he’d like to try to revitalize his career in New England.
21. Case Keenum, QB, Redskins:Â (Free agency) Keenum had a catastrophic season in Washington, but perhaps that’s what might interest New England. McDaniels could study what made Keenum so successful in Minnesota when he went to the NFC Championship Game. Keenum’s contract would cost next to nothing, and he’d be a nice buy-low bridge quarterback for the Patriots.
With free agency set to begin, who are some of the premier players who could possibly find a new home in 2020?
With free agency looming in the National Football League, all 32 teams are getting ready to dip into the open market to try and acquire players that could be the missing link to a Super Bowl run. There are dozens of players who can provide an impact on new teams next year, but here are Touchdown Wire’s top 25 free agents.
Many of these players are likely to return to their current teams either with a new long-term deal or via the franchise tag, but as they say in the league, “…on any given Sunday.”
1. Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
(Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports)
Quarterbacks are going to top this list, given the importance of the position in today’s National Football League. Sure, any pantheon of quarterback rankings will have living legends such as Drew Brees and Tom Brady atop the list, but if you are a current franchise looking to lock down your quarterback for the next five years or more, you are going to prioritize the QB who turns 27 this summer. The Dallas Cowboys likely find a way to bring Prescott back via a long-term deal or the franchise tag, but if he somehow finds a way to the open market, expect plenty of suitors.
2. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
(Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports)
Drew Brees is still playing the quarterback position at an extremely high level. Last season, according to PFF’s charting data, he led the NFL last season in Adjusted Completion Percentage (ACP) with a number of 82.9, and according to NFL Next Gen Stats, Brees was second in the league with a 6.3 jump from his Expected Completion Percentage (xCOMP) of 68.0% to his actual Completion Percentage (CP) of 74.3%, behind only Ryan Tannehill. Brees had declared that he is “Who Dat Nation for life” recently on Boston sports radio, but a team that is close to making a run at a title but needs immediate help at the quarterback position – and can afford him – is at least going to pick up the phone.
3. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
(Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports)
Arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady is set to truly test free agency for the first time in his career. While Brady and the New England Patriots experienced a setback last season, with the quarterback putting up pedestrian numbers while the franchise was bounced out of the playoffs in the Wild Card round for the first time since 2009, with weapons around him and in the right offense Brady is still capable of leading a team deep into the playoffs. New England might still be the best situation for him, given his familiarity with the offense, but teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Chargers are expected to take a run at the six-time Super Bowl Champion.
4. Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Expectations are high that the rookie class of wide receivers is going to have an instant and immediate impact on the NFL next season. Draft expert Daniel Jeremiah declared before the Scouting Combine that on his draft board, he has “27 wide receivers with top three-round grades in this draft.” That may depress the market for free agent WRs somewhat, but you cannot deny that Amari Cooper is a top-flight talent at the position with the ability to run a diverse route tree immediately for a franchise. His impact on quarterback Dak Prescott was almost immediate when the Cowboys acquired him two seasons ago, and at just 25 years old he has years of high-level production ahead of him.
5. Chris Jones, DL, Kansas City Chiefs
(Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)
Over his last 29 regular season games, Chris Jones has tallied 24.5 sacks. Those are impressive numbers for an interior defensive lineman, and under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo last season Jones showed the positional flexibility to play in a variety of alignments up front for the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense. The organization has stressed that retaining Jones is a top priority for them, and you can expect him to return to KC either with a long-term deal or under the franchise tag. However, teams that have a lot of cap space like the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills will likely inquire once the tampering window opens if Jones is not inked or tagged by then.
