What's next for Marcus Mariota after Commanders bench Jayden Daniels?

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota is being given the keys to the offense for the rest of the season after the team decided to bench the injured Jayden Daniels.

Mariota willed the Commanders to victory in Week 15 against the New York Giants. Now he'll have the chance to get three more victories for Washington in the final couple of weeks during the season. Commanders head coach Dan Quinn spoke about the opportunity Mariota has in front of him.

“Yeah, he's an impactful guy here, for a lot of reasons. But also, it's the play on the field and having him, the full three games to go take all the reps and do the preparation to go, that's a big deal," Quinn said.

"And so, we wanted to give him that opportunity as well to make sure he had the timing, the execution, the practice reps. Sometimes when you're the backup, not getting the game reps with the guys that are in during the week that can change it. So yeah, that was part of the goal for sure.”

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota looks for an open teammate | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mariota given strong opportunity with Commanders

Mariota, 32, is a free agent at the end of the season. Therefore, the ability to showcase his talents over the final three weeks will give him a chance to audition for potential starting jobs across the NFL.

Based on what he's been able to do for the Commanders, it also seems like Washington would be interested in bringing him back in a backup role for Daniels. However, they may not be the only team interested.

However, if a team like the New York Jets or Las Vegas Raiders is looking for someone that could possibly start or be a mentor for a quarterback coming in, Mariota could earn that opportunity by doing his best for the Commanders in the final three weeks of the season.

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