Las Vegas Raiders sign quarterback Marcus Mariota

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Monday, March 16, 2020 | 7:40 p.m.

Derek Carr may yet survive as the starting quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders, but he’s going to have to earn it.

After an offseason of speculation as to how the Raiders will proceed at the game’s most important position, the team decided to add some veteran competition on Monday by signing Marcus Mariota as a free agent, according to reports. Terms of the contract were not immediately released.

Mariota began last season as the Tennessee Titans’ starter, but he played poorly over the first half of the season and got benched in favor of new addition Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill then led the Titans to a 7-3 record down the stretch, followed by a trip to the AFC championship game. Tannehill signed a long-term extension with Tennessee over the weekend, effectively putting Mariota out of a job.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Mariota progressed slowly throughout his first five seasons. He completed a career-low 59.4 percent of his passes in 2019, with seven touchdowns and two interceptions at the time he was replaced by Tannehill.

Raiders general manager Mike Mayock was high on Mariota’s talent heading into the 2015 draft, and head coach Jon Gruden has a reputation for gravitating toward reclamation projects at quarterback, so it’s not a surprise to see Las Vegas take a chance on Mariota.

Carr, the incumbent starter, will almost certainly enter training camp with a firm hold on the No. 1 job, but he’ll have to outplay Mariota in order to keep it. That’s not a bad outcome for Carr; for most of the offseason, the Raiders have been rumored to be interested in top-tier free agents such as Tom Brady, and they’ve also been regarded as a team that could look to take a quarterback early in next month’s draft.

What the move means for the Raiders:

Upside play

Considering all the quarterback options for Las Vegas this offseason, Mariota makes sense as an upside play. He still possesses the talent that made him the No. 2 pick just five years ago, but he was clearly a square peg trying to fit into a round hole in Tennessee. If his skills turn out to be better suited for a Gruden offense, the Raiders could be acquiring a potential franchise quarterback just entering his prime.

If Mariota turns out not to be a classic change-of-scenery guy — that is, if he’s just plain bad — there is little downside for Las Vegas. Carr is still in place, and no draft picks were wasted in the acquisition of Mariota. The worst case scenario is that the Raiders just signed an overqualified backup QB. It’s a low-risk, high-reward signing.

Cap space

One of the reasons the risk is so low for Las Vegas is because the team has more cap space than it can use this offseason. The Raiders entered the offseason with nearly $45 million in space according to OverTheCap.com, and Mariota is unlikely to eat up much of that space.

It’s also unlikely that Mariota’s contract ends up being a long-term hindrance. It’s a move that should have little impact on the cap beyond 2020, and Vegas still has enough money to make a run at a couple of the top defenders left on the market.

Pocket presence

Gruden loves coaching quarterbacks, and the first thing he’ll have to iron out with Mariota is his awareness in the pocket. Mariota is athletic and somewhat elusive, so it’s downright amazing that he posted a sack rate of 13.5 percent last year.

It can’t be blamed on Tennessee’s offensive line — playing behind that same unit, Tannehill’s sack rate of 9.8 percent represented a reduction of more than 27 percent. Mariota just happens to not recognize pressure and as a result gets dropped for a lot of negative plays. If Gruden can make headway there, Mariota could still be salvaged.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.