The Washington Commanders signed free agent quarterback and former Oregon Ducks player Marcus Mariota to a one-year, $6 million contract last March. At the time, the move was seen as a way to add experience to a questionable quarterback corps, a view further supported by the Commanders' selection of former Louisiana State quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The league-wide consensus was that Daniels would be the starter and Mariota would be the mentor and backup, which is what he's been doing throughout his career: He started at Tennessee from 2016-18 and had three winning seasons before handing the starting job to Ryan Tannehill midway through the 2019 season. From there, Mariota served as a backup for the Las Vegas Raiders for two years, started for Atlanta for most of 2022 and was a backup for the Philadelphia Eagles last year.
While many veteran quarterbacks have had issues with a role that also involves mentoring a rookie playmaker, Mariota sees a bright side to the situation.
“I think competition makes everybody better,” Mariota said. “Regardless of who's the starter on Day 1, I got my ego under control a long time ago. And I truly believe that when you have a healthy quarterback staff that's really competing and really trying to make each other better, it ultimately makes everybody in that room play at their highest level. So, no matter who's the starter Week 1, I'm going to do everything I can to make myself the best and bring out the best in my teammates.”
While there doesn't appear to be any quarterback controversy going on in the Commanders' camp, NFL reporter Zachary Rodgers of Last Word on Sports decided to stir things up ahead of training camp in a few months.
“Starting Jayden Daniels in Week 1 may be a move Washington fans want, but it probably isn't the right choice,” Rodgers wrote. “Marcus Mariota should start in Week 1 because of his veteran experience. His stats may not be spectacular, but he played in three games last year and completed 15-of-23 passes for a 59.9 completion percentage. Daniels will be the starting QB of the future, but the team shouldn't be in a rush to put him on the field.”
Rodgers is entitled to his opinion, and some have questioned throwing a rookie quarterback into the fire, but the Commanders didn't use their No. 2 pick to bench a player. Talent-wise, Daniels may be considered a superior athlete, but his teammates have been impressed with what he's accomplished so far with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's playbook. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin was surprised and excited by it.
“By the time the rookie got there, we already had four or five guys in place,” McLaurin said, “and I think Cliff did a great job trying to integrate everybody at the same time, so when the rookie got there, we started with Ground 1. But when we got there, Jayden seemed to know the whole offense.”
Whether or not the Rodgers story gets any attention, it's something that's likely to be talked about in training camp, preseason games or until new head coach Dan Quinn announces his starting quarterback. From Mariota's perspective, it's about competition and making the team stronger, and he did that during his time as quarterback with the Oregon Ducks.
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