2020 NFL free agency: Where should Marcus Mariota rank among available QBs?

Where should soon-to-be former Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota rank among the quarterbacks set to hit the open market when free agency begins?

Former NFL quarterback and current NFL.com analyst David Carr believes Tennessee Titans quarterback, Marcus Mariota, is a better option in free agency than fellow signal-caller, Ryan Tannehill.

Carr did a list of the top 10 available quarterbacks this offseason, incorporating both those available in the draft and those set to hit the open market come March.

And on his list, he surprisingly ranked Mariota (No. 8) ahead of Tannehill (No. 9), with his reasoning being that we never saw just how good the soon-to-be former Titans quarterback can be because the team didn’t utilize him properly.

It certainly wasn’t an ideal year for Mariota, as he was benched for Ryan Tannehill after a 2-4 start. Consequently, I know you’re wondering why Tannehill is below Mariota on this list. I’ve touched on this several times this year, and it’s because I don’t believe Mariota has been utilized in the correct way during his time in Nashville. Mariota was often used in the West Coast offense or a variation of it, but he’s a spread quarterback who thrives when he’s able to use his legs. Instead of setting him loose as a runner, the Titans made a concerted effort to prevent the injury-prone Mariota from taking big hits. If the former Heisman winner signs with a team that is dedicated to maximizing his skill set, Mariota has a real chance to turn things around.

Not only does Carr think Mariota is a better option than Tannehill, he also ranks the Oregon product ahead of veteran quarterback, Philip Rivers (No. 10). Dak Prescott (No. 2), Teddy Bridgewater (No. 4) and Tom Brady (No. 5) are all rightfully ranked ahead of Mariota.

While I would certainly agree that Mariota could revive his career in the right system and be a productive starting quarterback, the only thing we can go on in regard to ranking him is the concrete evidence we have.

The truth is, Mariota was 2-4 as the Titans’ starter in 2019 before Tannehill took over the starting job. With the same team, the reigning Comeback Player of the Year led the Titans to a 7-3 record over the last 10 games of the regular season, en route to the playoffs.

Adding to that, Tannehill’s performance, which saw him lead the NFL in passer rating and finish third in completion percentage, helped take the Titans’ offense to new levels of production it hadn’t seen in quite some time.

Mariota is currently the type of quarterback teams will want to take a flier on in 2020, as opposed to Tannehill and Rivers, both of whom can be slotted into a starting role right away with confidence.

Of course, Rivers’ 2019 season was a forgettable one as well, but he has a much longer track record of success than Mariota.

The former No. 2 overall pick is a perfect fit as a backup to a quarterback who is on shaky ground (Mitchell Trubisky in Chicago), or a signal-caller who is injury prone (Carson Wentz in Philadelphia).

Another possible avenue to a starting job would be with the Los Angeles Chargers, where head coach Anthony Lynn has hinted he could roll with quarterback Tyrod Taylor as the starter.

In that situation, Mariota could conceivably win the job right away if given the opportunity to compete in camp against a signal-caller who has had multiple failed stints as a starter in the NFL.

No matter where he goes, Mariota is not guaranteed to have a starting job, making it impossible to rank him above the other top quarterbacks that will be available during the 2020 offseason.

PFF predicts Titans CB Logan Ryan will land with Giants

Ryan upped his game in 2019, as his 4.5 sacks and his consistent presence around the football didn’t go unnoticed.

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Several Tennessee Titans players are set to hit free agency soon, and the team won’t be able to hold onto all of them.

The two priority players for the Titans to either franchise tag or sign to a multi-year deal are quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henry.

But what about cornerback Logan Ryan?

Ryan upped his game in 2019, as his 4.5 sacks and his consistent presence around the football didn’t go unnoticed.

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Ryan had four interceptions after not having one in the two previous seasons, and more than doubled 2018’s total of pass breakups with 18 this season.

He’s a player the Titans would almost certainly like to hold onto, but it’s simply not realistic for the team to keep everyone on board.

Pro Football Focus has predicted he will land with the New York Giants ahead of the 2020 season.

“Bringing back Logan Ryan with Tannehill, Conklin and Henry seems to be a pipe dream,” the network wrote. “Ryan is by no means an elite slot corner — in fact, he surrendered over 1,000 yards in coverage in 2019 and was constantly picked on. That being said, he’s still an average player at the position — he was the 48th most valuable corner in 2019. His projected contact might be a bit steep, but Ryan could be a big improvement for a team that had a liability defending the slot for them in 2019, such as the Giants. Ryan spent the first four years of his career on the same team as Giants coach Joe Judge and could reunite in New York.”

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It will be interesting to see what happens for Ryan with free agency looming near, and we should expect to see continued upward momentum from him, regardless of where he plays.

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Could Matt Nagy be the one to get the best out of Marcus Mariota?

The Bears are in the market for a QB this offseason. Could Marcus Mariota be the guy? And could Matt Nagy turn him into a star?

With questions surrounding the Bears quarterback situation, nearly every pending free agent or tradable veteran quarterback has been linked to Chicago in some way.

At this point, it’s not a question of if the Bears are going to bring in an experienced quarterback to challenge starter Mitchell Trubisky, it’s all a matter of who. But it’s not going to be Chase Daniel or Tyler Bray, both of which are set to hit the free agent market.

One name that has been mentioned often in discussions with the Bears is Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, who is set to become a free agent next month.

Sports Illustrated painted the picture of a perfect situation for Mariota, saying that Matt Nagy could be the guy that gets the best out of him.

Mariota is both accurate and mobile. Throughout his career he’s had to deal with constant change and a buffet of different schemes. There are coaches out there—cough, Chicago, cough—who could slide him in easily under the guise that Mariota is a high-quality backup and develop him into a weapon under center who could take over when the starter falters.

Nagy was brought to Chicago to breathe life into a lifeless Bears offense and to mold Trubisky. While that hasn’t gone as expected, Nagy remains a great offensive mind.

And it doesn’t hurt that he brought in four new offensive coaches to lend a hand with their experience in offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and tight ends coach Clancy Barone.

Mariota makes sense — he’s a veteran with experience that perhaps needs a change of scenery. It also helps that he was on Ryan Pace’s radar back in 2016.

But at the same time, Mariota to the Bears doesn’t make sense considering he is represented by the same agency as current Bears starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

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Mel Kiper suggests Marcus Mariota could land with Raiders in 2020

Quarterback Marcus Mariota’s time as the starter for the Tennessee Titans has come to a close.

But could he be starting elsewhere next season?

That’s not for certain, but he’ll definitely find a new landing spot in the NFL.

And analyst Mel Kiper seems to think that could be with the Las Vegas Raiders, as he mentioned on the First Draft podcast.

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The 26-year-old could land in a situation where he may be able to take the staring job from Derek Carr sooner rather than later, or at least serve as an insurance policy until called upon.

The Raiders could also find ways to incorporate Mariota in certain packages — the same way the Titans did when he was demoted in 2019.

Mariota has plenty of faith in his ability to be an NFL starter moving forward.

‘I have no doubts at all, no doubts at all,” Mariota said earlier this year in a report by the team’s website. “I’m just hopeful and ready for whatever that next opportunity is.”

Las Vegas is just one of many places the quarterback could find a future in a starting role — whether that be immediate or later on down the line.

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The Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts are just a handful of teams that will be in need at the position and present options as Mariota prepares to hit free agency.

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Patriots 2020 free agency: Evaluating the quarterback class

High-level quarterbacks could be flooding the free agency in 2020.

This class of free agent quarterbacks may be the best the league has seen in recent memory. Typically, there are backups and low-end starters to be found on the open market — and they get way overpaid. This year, there are actual competitive quarterbacks that are slated to be free to sign with another team. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, of course, is among them. But he’s hardly the only established veteran. A franchises will change the trajectory of their team — for 2020 and future seasons — by making a signing this offseason.

Who are the names that fans should be familiar with?

Tom Brady

Brady really needs no explanation, but he’ll get one anyway. Unquestionably one of the greatest of all-time, Brady is coming off a season that was a disappointment in his eyes. The Patriots didn’t make it past Wild Card weekend. A lot of the blame will go towards the lack of weapons and questions surrounding the offensive line, but the 42-year-old did start to show some small signs of his age.

The future Hall of Famer finished 2019 with 4,057 yards, 24 touchdowns, and eight interceptions with a passer rating of 88.0.

In the right situation, Brady will likely still make a team a contender. He’s always said that money isn’t the biggest factor to him, so he’d be looking for a team that can give him what he wants. And what he wants is a great set of weapons and a fair paycheck for his services. Not too long ago it seemed unfathomable for Brady to leave New England, but it seems to be getting closer to that.

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Titans QB Ryan Tannehill makes PFF’s Top 101 list

Tennessee Titans quarterback is likely here to stay in Nashville after recording the best season of his NFL career with the team in 2019.

It’s with good reason that he made Pro Football Focus’ Top 101 players list for 2019, finishing out at No. 61 overall.

Here’s what analyst Sam Monson had to say about placing Tannehill directly ahead of New Orleans Saints signal-caller Drew Brees and just behind Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Brandon Graham.

“Ryan Tannehill had one of the most improbable seasons of any player in the NFL in 2019. Brought in as little more than a cheap insurance policy, he ended up rescuing the team’s season after he reversed the 2-4 start Marcus Mariota had guided them to and ultimately took them to the playoffs,” he wrote. “Tannehill ended the regular season with the No. 1 overall PFF grade among quarterbacks and had 23 big-time throws to just 12 turnover-worthy plays. Only a lackluster playoff campaign kept him from being higher on the list even though he didn’t start until Week 7.”

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Tannehill ended the season with the highest passer rating in the league (117.5), also leading the NFL in yards per attempt (9.6), adjusted yards gained per pass attempt (10.2), yards per completion (13.6).

He had the best passer rating when the offense used play-action (140.6) as well, per PFF.

It will be curious to see how much the Titans are willing to pay to hold into him, or if they choose to franchise tag him ahead of the 2020 season.

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QB Ryan Tannehill reportedly ‘not leaving’ Titans

The Titans seem to have the quarterback situation at least partially figured out.

The Tennessee Titans have a host of important decisions to make ahead of the 2020 NFL season, but apparently have already made some choices at quarterback.

Despite the recent rumors that the Titans could potentially be in the market for Tom Brady, and all of the enticing options available between a loaded free agency and a 2020 NFL Draft full of promising talent, the Titans aren’t making adding a new quarterback a top priority.

According to a report from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the Titans will be holding onto Ryan Tannehill.

“I checked in with a source yesterday who said succinctly he is not leaving the Titans,” Mortensen said on Sunday morning’s NFL Countdown.

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From @mortreport “Ryan Tannehill is not leaving the Titans.” They love Ryan in Tennessee.

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) February 2, 2020

Tannehill didn’t disappoint in Nashville, being named the starter in Week 7 after taking over during the Titans’ shutout loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 6.

He was one of the league’s most successful players in 2019, earning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award for good reason.

He finished the year by completing on 70.3% of his pass attempts for 2,742 yards, 22 touchdowns and just six interceptions over 10 starts and a pair of appearances.

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He led the NFL in yards per attempt (9.6), adjusted yards gained per pass attempt (10.2), yards per completion (13.6) and passer rating (117.5).

The question now is as to how much the Titans should pay Tannehill, who appears to be the quarterback of the future so long as he’s not plagued by inconsistency the way he was in Miami.

Tennessee has a lot to think about with running back Derrick Henry also up for a big contract after finishing the season with the NFL’s rushing title, but Marcus Mariota entering free agency should free up some extra space for the team to work with.

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Ryan Tannehill named AP Comeback Player of the Year

Tannehill took over the starting job from Mariota after Tennessee was shut out by the Denver Broncos, 16-0 in Week 6.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill was named the Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year Saturday evening at the NFL Honors ceremony.

“It’s an honor,” Tannehill told reporters. “It’s something you never want to be up initially for, but it is such an honor just to be recognized for the fighting through adversity I’ve had to face over the past couple of years.”

Tannehill was traded by the Miami Dolphins to Tennessee last summer and opened the season as Marcus Mariota’s backup. In six seasons with the Dolphins, Tannehill put up solid numbers, throwing for 20,434 yards, 123 touchdowns and 75 interceptions while compiling a 42-46 record as a starter.

Tannehill took over the starting job from Mariota after Tennessee was shut out by the Denver Broncos, 16-0 in Week 6. After taking over starting responsibilities, Tannehill guided the Titans to a 7-3 record, and Tennessee made the AFC Championship game upsetting both the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and top-seeded Baltimore Ravens along the way.

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In 10 starts and two appearances as a backup for the Titans, Tannehill threw for 2,742 yards, 22 touchdowns, six interceptions and completed 70 percent of his passes. Tannehill also picked up 185 yards on the ground and ran for four touchdowns.

Tannehill had a career resurgence in 2019, setting career-highs in completion percentage, touchdown percentage, yards per attempt and led the NFL in quarterback rating.

He was also selected to his first-ever Pro Bowl and named the 2019 Most Improved Player by the Professional Football Writers of America.

“I am so thankful for everyone who voted for me, and all of my teammates,” Tannehill said. “It wouldn’t be possible without a whole group of people that surrounds me and helps me on a daily basis.”

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QB Tom Brady was reportedly looking at Nashville schools on Thursday

A lot remains unclear at quarterback for the Tennessee Titans this offseason, with the future of Ryan Tannehill with the team causing a lot of discussion.

But what if the Titans let Tannehill and Marcus Mariota walk for the 2020 season and instead dipped into free agency to find their next signal-caller?

One player that could be up for grabs is none of than future Hall of Fame passer, Tom Brady.

And while no one is quite sure why, it’s certainly worth noting that Brady and wife Giselle Bundchen were reportedly seen looking at Nashville schools.

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“Sportcenter 5’s Bob Halloran and multiple media sources in Nashville are reporting that Giselle Bundchen had been in town visiting an all-boys private school,” the WCVB report read.

In the past few hours, there have been additional reports that she visited Montgomery Bell Academy, a preparatory day school for boys.”

Tennessee is a plausible landing spot for Brady, who has a connection with head coach Mike Vrabel from the time the two shared a sideline in New England.

The 42-year-old’s contract is up in March, and he’s stated previously that he wants to play until he’s 45.

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Several teams will pursue Brady if he doesn’t return to the Patriots, and the Titans should certainly be in the conversation.

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What are Colts’ options at QB in free agency?

Taking a look at the free-agent QB options.

Even though the Super Bowl has yet to arrive, the Indianapolis Colts are well into their offseason evaluation as they prepare for free agency in March and a crucial NFL draft in April.

There are several needs the Colts must address this offseason. The quarterback position is the biggest one and even though it is unlikely Chris Ballard will use free agency to quell the concern, it is still important to know what the options are out on the market.

A lot of the players on this list might re-sign with their current teams at some point but as of now, they are set to be free agents when the new league year begins in March.

The Colts might not have an interest in any or even all of the options on the market, but here are their options in free agency:

Philip Rivers

After 16 seasons leading both the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers, it seems Rivers and the only team he’s ever played for are heading for a split. Rivers is at the end of his four-year, $82.25 million contract and could be heading to free agency.

Rivers likely wouldn’t be that much of an upgrade over Jacoby Brissett. At 36 years old, Rivers does like to push the ball downfield, but he does so somewhat recklessly. He threw 23 touchdowns to 20 interceptions in 2019 while his touchdown percentage dipped to a career-low 3.9%.

Rivers has experience working with Frank Reich, which is a plus. However, his immobility and declining arm strength likely keep the Colts away.

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