HENDERSON, Nev. While Derek Carr is firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders, the man signed his backup, Marcus Mariota, under the impression of coach Jon Gruden on Friday, the third practice of training camp in which players wore helmets.
“He’s interesting,” Gruden said with a smile from Mariota. “He shot a few times today and it really shot me up. He’s injured, but the ankle really seems to be turning a corner. He’s a brilliant player with his feet, and that’s the key to his game.
“I saw that smile today. It’s exciting. Started slow at 7-on-7 [drills], mar [he] picked it up, had a nice day. Had a really fun day. “
Indeed, Mariota, who lost his starting lineup with the Tennessee Titans to Ryan Tannehill last season, struggled in practice early, and missed tight end Jason Witten badly on a pass to the right. And he throws another ball than Carr.
But it is Mariota’s scraping ability and willingness to extend plays with his legs that makes him a good fit for Gruden’s crime. Even as Mariota, the winner of the 2014 Heisman Trophy, says since signing as a free agent with Las Vegas in March that the Raiders were Carr’s team.
In fact, both Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2015 NFL draft by the Titans, and Carr, a second-round pick from the Raiders in 2014, suffered seasons with broken legs on the same day in week 16 of the 2016 season.
“It’s like weird, crazy things that connect you,” Carr, 29, said earlier in camp.
“I’ll tell you one thing, in our quarterback squad you have to participate, and that’s what I do. Everyone around me, all I have to do is compete. I have multiple starters in the NFL came in here and be in the same room as me.You can go through the list of who started games and who has been in our quarterback room.It happens all the time but if you are with 7- 9 go, people like to play games. “
Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson said Mariota, 26, would send Carr, a three-time Pro Bowler and the all-time leading franchise passer coming from career highs in passing yardage (4,054), completion rate (70.4%) and Total QBR (62.2) but is just 39-55 as a starter, with one winning season in six years.
And as Raiders owner Mark Davis told ESPN.com, “The best quarterbacks are the ones who have the win. Statistics will follow.”
Mariota is 29-32 as a starter.
“Competition brings out the best in every player in every sport,” Olson said. “I would say it’s the best competition we’ve had since we’ve been here.”
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