Marcus Mariota received a second chance at becoming an NFL starting quarterback with the Atlanta Falcons during 2022. But he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity, and this month, he may be blowing his chance at remaining a backup in the league.
Philadelphia Eagles insider Eliot Shorr-Parks argued on Twitter that the Eagles should consider signing Super Bowl MVP signal caller Nick Foles to be the team’s backup. Shorr-Parks’ plea for Philadelphia to sign Foles came a day after Mariota severely struggled against the Cleveland Browns.
I think it actually does make some sense. Foles has experience in big games and experience having to come off the bench to play in a big game in an instant, an important quality in a backup QB, and a quality most available QBs don’t have Foles has the skillset that Sirianni has mostly worked with in his career — he isn’t mobile but he makes good, smart decisions and is accurate. With this O-Line and these weapons thats what you want from a QB. Get the ball out quick to the better players. I also think Foles would be a good player to have around Tanner McKee. They have similar skillsets. Would be a good mentor for McKee in lots of ways and would not be a distraction for Hurts. Also, if Hurts were to go down, Foles/McKee would be running a similar offense Biggest question (obvi) is if Foles can still play. He might just be done. But if they are really concerned about Mariota, I think Foles checks off a lot of boxes for what they should look for in his replacement
Eliot Shorr-Parks tweet from August 18
Even Mariota admitted that he didn’t play very well on Thursday against the Browns.
“I was sloppy,” Mariota told reporters after the 18-18 tie. “I can do a better job of getting our guys operating cleaner and more efficiently. But that is what preseason is for. Kind of get some of that stuff ironed out. Clean off some of the rust. We’ll find ways to get better.”
Mariota went 9-for-17 with 86 passing yards and an interception. He also had 5 rushing yards.
The poor stat line was only the tip of the iceberg for Mariota in the second week of the preseason. On several of his incompletions, he badly missed receivers.
Mariota largely struggled last season for the Falcons as well. He had some strong passing afternoons such as his day against the San Francisco 49ers when he went 13-for-14 with 129 yards, 2 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He also had 50 rushing yards and another score on the ground in that game.
But in five other contests, the veteran quarterback failed to record a completion percentage above 60%. Against the Browns last year, he went 7-for-19 with 139 yards and an interception.
Perhaps Cleveland’s coaching staff just knows how to defend Mariota. In his last two games against the Browns (counting the preseason), Mariota owns a 44.4% completion percentage with zero touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
But should his struggles continue against other teams, the Eagles may consider other options such as Foles for their backup quarterback spot behind Jalen Hurts.
