It’s become clear that the Raiders would like to trade Marcus Mariota, but what will they do if no one is willing to offer more than a late-round pick (or even nothing at all)?
Some have suggested the Raiders will cut Mariota. But there might be a better option.
Assuming they can fit him under the cap, why not just keep Mariota?
It was an idea that Sirius XM NFL producer Eddie Borsilli brought up this week and it makes sense.
If Mariota’s contract was acceptable last year, it should even more acceptable now because his stock is much higher than it was a year ago. He knows Jon Gruden’s offense and would be more than capable of leading the team if Derek Carr missed time.
With Mariota off the trade block, the Patriots, Bears, and Football Team can wrestle over the fourth-tier quarterbacks on the free agent market. When one of those teams realizes that they settled for the wrong washed-up quarterback, the Raiders mind end up getting a much better offer for Mariota than they can get now.
As for the salary cap, the Raiders can easily fit Mariota’s contract under the cap by manipulating or extending Derek Carr’s contract. Gruden would get another year of “Carr Insurance” and the Raiders might still be looking at a compensatory pick when Mariota leaves next year in free agency.
And the best part of taking this approach with Mariota?
It might be the opportunity to watch Bill Belichick suffer through another year of lousy quarterback play.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Agree 100% w/Borsilli.
Keep Mariotta, period. IF Carr goes down to injury, the next man up is Nathan Peterman. Nathan Peterman is a Gruden mistake that is costing the Raiders a roster spot. It was a foolish move for Gruden to sign him in the first place and now that foolishness has been compounded by Gruden resigning Peterman. If Gruden can’t get his desired haul for Mariotta then he would get absolutely nothing for Nathan Peterman. The signing of Nathan Peterman by Jon Gruden is exactly the primary example of why the Raiders need new leadership. It’s time for the foolishness to stop with this organization. In truth, any semblance of coaching credibility that Gruden ever had went out of the window when he signed Nathan Peterman. Gruden is the punchline for every inept coach that has ever been in the NFL. No one takes him serious nor should they, except for Mark Davis. In his three year return, to the Raiders, he has won 4 games, seven games and eight games, respectively. Talking about “what could have been” doesn’t count. To quote Bill Parcells, “… You ARE what your record says that you are…” The sooner that those two television analyst return to television, the better for the Raiders. Jon Gruden, as a second time coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, is a failure and Mark Davis needs to learn that old gambler’s adage, “… you don’t throw good money after bad…” Al Davis used to say that, “… the greatness of the Raiders is their future…” Well, given Jon Gruden’s current contract, by Mark Davis, that’s at least seven years in the future.
Great article
I don’t understand why this thought is just now crossing people’s minds. We have the best one, two QB combo in the NFL and everyone’s looking at it like it’s a terrible situation to keep both players. In fact, what’s wrong with grooming Mariota to, at some point step in as the full time starter? He’s two years younger than Carr, he’s half the salary cap hit, gets another year in Gruden’s system, and gets another year to get healthier. I remember this guy named Steve Young that backed up Joe Montana. That worked out pretty well.
So you really think anyone in their right mind would listen to any of your options? Did you get this opinion from another betting site? You’ve lost any credibility, that is if you even had any to start with. How many reports have the raidersbeat.com ran that aren’t rumors or hear say. The method of investigation is to call the closest betting site find out what the odds are. This group is a joke!
Dump Carr 2nd round pick with 42% win rate & start Mariota = Heisman Winner & 57% win rate, if his rookie year was better he’d have 70+% win rate.
So according to win rate % Watson is one of the worst qbs in the league. Your millennial hot take is garbage and shows you know nothing about football…
Amen Gasbag hater…. LMFAO….
Aloha
Raider fan here only because Mariota is now a Raider. I’m still a Titans fan since Mariota started his NFL career there first. I’ve been watching ALL Titans games this past season and have also been watching some Raiders games hoping Gruden would put Mariota in at least a couple of plays per game using him like a Taysom Hill or a Jacoby Brissett when they get inside the Red Zone. But to my amazement Mariotas has not been in on ONE SINGLE PLAY! I first thought that Gruden would be the perfect coach for Mariota especially the way he GUSHED on Mariotas ability as a football player when he signed him. But now I think Mariota is on the wrong team w the wrong coach going forward in his career. I now feel, after watching Raider football that Gruden USED TO BE an excellent coach in the hay days but now is a waaaayyy better football analyst than a coach. I hope Patriots end up w Mariota even tho I can’t stand Bill Belichick because at least he will put Mariota in the best situation to be successful. Well that’s all I gotta say and at least I get to watch an exciting Titans team this past season. Feel sorry for all you Raider fans cuz there is a LOT of Raiders fans here in Hawaii!!!
Good luck next year Raiders Fans! ALOHA
I’m pretty sure real Raiders fans have gone over every scenario when it comes to not only MM, but to every player/FA with the Raiders. Whether that means restructuring contracts or resigning a particular FA or outright dumping a player, I know I have thought about it.
Trade Carr for picks. Start Mariota. Move up in draft for a future QB, unless an early draft team wants a sure thing in Carr over a potential drafted QB.
Peterman is a joke. By signing him makes Gruden a joke. Carr and mariota are the perfect one two punch. BUT if another team is willing to trade their top defensive player for Mariota then jump on the opportunity. Other wise keep them both. Gruden once said that if he couldn’t turn the team around he would resign. I’m still waiting.