This offseason brought in the Las Vegas Raiders Marcus Mariota to be the backup for current starter Derek Carr. Through the first three weeks of training camp, Carr has remained the starter, but many have begun to question whether the free agent signed from Tennessee will be able to replace Carr in the 2020 NFL season.
The Raiders boost Mariota’s contract heavily as he takes over the starting role and the early indication from the Las Vegas training camp is that Mariota has made a strong competition at quarterback.
Fox Radio host Colin Cowherd on Wednesday anticipated the Raiders schedule for the 2020 season and came away with the belief that after a rough start to the season, the Raiders will opt for Mariota over Carr.
“We all know that Derek Carr and Jon Gruden feel, I’m not using this word alone, tenuous,” Cowherd said after predicting a string of losses to open the season. “It’s not like Andy Reid and (Patrick) Mahomes, there’s a lot of love there. So Derek Carr and Jon Gruden, what would make it worse? A really bad start.”
The Raiders open the season with four cross country road trips in their first seven games and will host the Saints, Bills and Bucs. Cowherd does not have much confidence in the team to open the season and that is when he will see things Mariota the field.
“I think they’ll start 2-6 or 1-5 and guess who will play? Marcus Mariota,” the radio host said.
If Cowherd’s timeline is correct, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens for the Raiders Week 9 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. While Tyrod Taylor is the current starter in Los Angeles, No. 6 general pick Justin Herbert will push for playing time, leading to a potential matchup of former Oregon quarterbacks.
Mariota has made great progress this summer for the Raiders. Two weeks ago he was the head coach of the Raiders Jon Gruden spoke to the media to address how Mariota has looked so far in the first three days of training camp.
“I’m under the impression,” Gruden told the media. ‘The number one thing with Marcus was getting well. He had a shoulder problem, an ankle problem, so it’s a real credit to him to do his rehabilitation from the injury at all this social distance. Finding a doctor’s distraction, being safe, and he did a great job of healing himself and teaching the system. ”
Mariota agreed to join these Raiders with the Raiders in search of a place where he could not only rehabilitate his lingering injuries from his five years with the Tennessee Titans, but also compete for a starting job. In agreement with the Raiders, Mariota acknowledged that this was Carr’s team, but was willing to do whatever it took to make his new team better.
