Commanders Trade Sam Howell to Seahawks; Marcus Mariota to Start?
The Washington Commanders quarterback situation became a little clearer as the franchise signed Marcus Mariota to a one-year, $6 million deal. In doing so, Sam Howell was deemed surplus to requirements and was traded to the Seattle Seahawks.
With Mariota now the veteran in the quarterback room, the consensus is that he will be the backup to whichever quarterback the Commanders take with the No. 2 overall pick.
There is so much uncertainty around the quarterback position in Washington, but with Mariota's signing, things are starting to sort themselves out.
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But if you thought Mariota would come into a new team and look to rock the boat to try and be the starter despite a new, young quarterback coming in, you'd be wrong - he's focused on being the ultimate team player.
“We'll have to wait and see,” Mariota said when asked if he wants to be the starter. “I think for all of us that are in this position, you always want to be a starter, you always want to be a guy that's leading a franchise out there, that's why you play that's why you do it.
"But I'll never let my own ego get in the way of what's most important for the team. I really believe if that's my role, if I'm called upon to play, I'll do it to the best of my ability; if I'm asked to be a mentor, if I'm asked to help coach a young guy or whoever is with us in that quarterback room again I'll do it to the best of my ability. At the end of the day I want to win games and I want to be a part of a franchise that puts together a good product in the field.”
That is the kind of selfless attitude that the Commanders' coaching staff will want as the franchise looks to put decades of mediocrity in the rearview mirror.
In Mariota, the Commanders have a veteran quarterback who came in at cost, has seen it all in the league, and was, himself, a high draft pick. This bodes well in the mentoring aspect with/if Washington selects a quarterback at No. 2.
Having a good backup quarterback is crucial in the NFL (just ask the Jets), as Washington seems to be covered in multiple ways.
If the new quarterback hits the ground running, Mariota won't rock the boat and will continue to mentor his teammate. Conversely, if the rookie struggles, Kliff Kingsbury has a lever to pull and put Mariota into the game to ease the pressure.
The Mariota signing wasn't the swashbuckling move some wanted, but he might prove to be a shrewd piece of business by the Commanders as they got themselves a veteran quarterback who has no intention of making things hard on the incoming quarterback, instead, being the perfect teammate to help them succeed.
