Quarterback Marcus Mariota reportedly is headed to the Philadelphia Eagles, this time as a backup instead of as an expected franchise savior.
The 29-year-old veteran agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal that could rise to a maximum value of $8 million with incentives, ESPN reported Thursday night.
Mariota would serve as a backup to Jalen Hurts, who went 14-1 as a starter last year.
When Mariota was coming out of Oregon in 2015, the Eagles’ head coach and de facto general manager at the time was Chip Kelly, who was in charge of the Ducks during Mariota’s freshman season. Kelly reportedly offered an enormous trade package to the Titans to move up to the No. 2 pick in the draft to select Mariota, but Tennessee rejected the offer and chose the QB.
Mariota spent five years with the Titans, going 29-32 as a starter while completing 62.9 percent of his passes for 13,207 yards with 76 touchdown throws and 44 interceptions.
He served as a backup quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 and 2021 before signing with Atlanta last spring. Mariota started the first 13 games for the Falcons in 2022, going 5-8 before he was benched in December.
Mariota posted a 61.3 percent completion rate while throwing for 2,219 yards, 15 TDs and nine interceptions last season. For his 87-game career, he has a 34-40 record as a starter with a 62.6 percent completion rate, 15,656 yards, 92 touchdowns and 54 interceptions.
