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- Mar 19, 2019
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With Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr missing at least one more game and possibly two after suffering a groin injury on Thursday night, backup Marcus Mariota will get at least one more chance to make a good second impression on the league.
Mariota played incredibly well on Thursday night. He moved well, threw well, made good decisions. His one mistake, a ball thrown a bit behind receiver Zay Jones, became a field-flipping interception return thanks to a bang-bang fluke that had the ball hit Jones in the hand and pop into the air as Chargers cornerback Chris Harris, Jr. snatched it on the run. (Mariota hustled to save a touchdown by pulling down Harris from behind.)
Actually, one of Mariota’s more impressive plays happened when he was out of the pocket near the goal line. With a defender approaching fast, Mariota had both the presence of mind and the physical dexterity to quickly release a throw out of the end zone, avoiding a sack.
The second overall pick in the 2015 draft also looks older and seems more mature after five seasons in Tennessee that ended with a midseason benching for Ryan Tannehill in 2019. What once seemed to be a soft-spoken shyness now comes across as quiet confidence.
His performance against the Chargers will get teams that may be looking for quarterbacks in 2021 to notice. It also could get the Raiders to think about balancing Derek Carr’s $19.625 million compensation package against Mariota’s $10 million salary for 2021.
The Raiders also could try to subtly gauge trade interest in Carr or Mariota. Maybe the best offer they get for one of them helps make the decision.
Regardless, someone will want Mariota in 2021, if he plays next weekend the same way he played last night. The Raiders, by virtue of having him under contract for 2021, will have dibs.