The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback room got better on Monday, as the team agreed to a deal with former Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota.
A hot topic surrounding the Las Vegas Raiders' offseason has been their quarterback position. On day one of the free agency tampering period, Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock signed a linebacker during the early stages and now they've shifted their attention towards a former No.2 overall pick.
Throughout the offseason, there have been many rumblings about the Raiders signing Tom Brady. While that may sound like a long shot, in recent weeks speculation has turned towards bringing aboard former Tennessee Titans quarterback, Marcus Mariota.
According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the Raiders were close to finalizing a deal with Marcus Mariota, giving Las Vegas another quarterback for Gruden to get his hands on. The deal was later officially announced.
While Mariota has been a starter in the league for a handful of years, Derek Carr still appears to be the starting quarterback at this time. The addition of Mariota isn't about taking over the starting role, but rather the fact that he'll provide some upside from the backup position.
Over Carr's tenure with the Raiders, not once has he had a backup behind him with a large resumé of starting experience. Mariota will offer exactly that and can push Carr with the thought that he has a serviceable passer in his rearview mirror.
In terms of how Gruden and Mayock have viewed Mariota in the past, both have tagged the former Oregon quarterback with high praise coming out of college.
As a member of NFL Network's draft analyst, Mayock ranked Mariota as the top quarterback in the 2015 draft class ahead of former No.1 overall pick, Jameis Winston. Furthermore, as a member of ESPN, Gruden praised Mariota for his athletic ability during his quarterback camp television series.
This move doesn’t necessarily put the Brady rumors to rest, but they feel highly unlikely to occur.