It’s safe to say at this point that a huge part of the balance achieved by the Washington Commanders roster in 2024 came from the quarterbacks room, where the steady presence of an emerging superstar quarterback in Pro Bowler and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels and a veteran backup in Marcus Mariota kept things at an even keel.
Mariota’s maturity and willingness to do whatever it takes to make sure Daniels felt comfortable, provide mentorship when needed and stay ready for action has made him one of the most sought after backup quarterbacks in the 2025 free agent cycle.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter predicts those qualities could have Mariota headed to the Miami Dolphins, who are in desperate need of a backup quarterback to oft-injured starter Tua Tagovailoa.
“He’ll be an option there,” Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show. “There could be a little bit of interest in Marcus Mariota between the Raiders and Dolphins.”
Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, played 2024 on a 1-year, $6 million contract. Mariota has already played for the Las Vegas Raiders once, when he was a backup to Derek Carr for 2 seasons in 2020 and 2021.
In an interesting twist, both Tagovailoa and Mariota played high school football for the same high school — prep powerhouse Saint Louis School in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Dolphins Have Serious Injury Concerns With Tua
There’s a good argument to be made that after several nasty concussions, Tagovailoa might just be one hit away from the end of his NFL career. That’s not a good outlook for a 26-year-old quarterback who signed a 4-year, $212.4 million contract extension in July 2024.
Tagovailoa has missed 14 games due to injury over the last 4 seasons and has only played all 17 games once, in 2023.
From Bleacher Report: “It’s an unfortunate reality that the Dolphins will see their backup quarterback start a few games every year. (Tua) Tagovailoa has played all 17 games just once in his five-year career. His injury history at Alabama was a concern, and those worries have played out in the NFL … The Dolphins have enough weapons that they should be able to win games if they have a high-level backup.”
Commanders Should Try and Re-Sign Mariota
The Commanders had their best season in over 30 years with the braintrust of Daniels, Mariota and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who turned his back on a possible head coaching opportunity to return in 2025.
The smartest move for the Commanders might be to offer Mariota a slight raise in order to keep him in the fold — fitting after the Commanders went 12-5 in the regular season and advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991.
Mariota has also shown that when push comes to shove, he can step in for Daniels without missing a beat.
Against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7, Daniels went down with a rib injury on the first offensive series and Mariota came in to throw for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 40-7 win. In the regular-season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, Mariota played the second half and led the Commanders to a 23-19 win by going 16-of-18 passing for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns to go with 56 rushing yards and 1 touchdown.
