Owing to a critical statement made by Marcus Mariota, the Washington Redskins head coach has formally declared his intention to resign from his position as a quarterback.
According to a source who spoke with ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday, the Washington Commanders, who are generally predicted to choose a quarterback with the second overall pick in the draft held next month, have reached an agreement with veteran Marcus Mariota.
According to ESPN, Mariota, who saw limited action for the Philadelphia Eagles in the previous campaign, has agreed to a $6 million one-year contract that could increase to $10 million with incentives. Sam Howell, who started every game the previous season, is another asset for the Commanders. In the upcoming month’s draft, they will probably choose between quarterbacks Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels.
This is one of Washington’s most recent moves in the early stages of free agency. During this time, the Commanders have added several starters, including trades for veteran running back Austin Ekeler and veteran Zach Ertz, tight end.
On Tuesday, Washington took two additional actions to strengthen its defense. The Commanders signed defensive end Dante Fowler Jr., who is the third player the team has signed at that position since the start of the legal tampering period on Monday, according to a source who spoke with ESPN. As the new Commander ends, he joins Clelin Ferrell and Dorance Armstrong.
According to a source who spoke with ESPN, former Carolina Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn and the Commanders reached an agreement on a one-year contract worth up to roughly $5.2 million.
Jacoby Brissett, the backup quarterback for Washington in 2023, agreed to a one-year contract with the New England Patriots on Monday, but the Commanders were not among the teams who expressed interest in signing him.
Mariota’s arrival gives Washington choices. The QB could be selected by the Commanders.and hold onto three players. If the team receives a strong offer, they may choose to trade Howell, or they may decide to see if he could be a future No. 2 for them.
During the previous season, Howell completed 21 touchdown passes against 21 interceptions in 17 games. He also incurred an NFL-high 65 sacks, of which 40 occurred in the first seven games. In the fifth round of the 2022 draft, Washington made a selection of him, but under a different general manager, coach, and owner.
Adam Peters, general manager of Commanders, has stated time and time again that he intends to develop through the draft. Washington still needs to rebuild its roster, and they want to do so through the draft even though they have already filled a number of holes through free agency.
completed 15 of 23 passes for 164 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in three games for the Eagles. The previous season, Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson was the pass game coordinator for Washington.
For the Falcons in 2022, Mariota started the first 13 games before being benched in favor of rookie Desmond Ridder. After losing his starting position with the Titans in 2019, he played as Derek Carr’s backup for the previous two seasons with the Raiders.
Mariota, who was selected by the Titans with the second overall pick in 2015, has participated in 90 games and has helped teams go 34–40 when he starts.
He has completed 15,820 yards of passing, 93 touchdowns, and 55 interceptions on 62.7% of his passes. Additionally, he has gained 2,064 yards and 17 touchdowns in his professional career.
After the in-season trades of Chase Young to San Francisco and Montez Sweat to Chicago, Fowler strengthens the Commanders’ defensive line.
In 2012, Dan Quinn, the new coach at Washington, lured Fowler to Florida and went on to coach him in Atlanta and Dallas. In his two seasons as a backup end for the Cowboys under Quinn, Fowler totaled ten sacks. Jacksonville selected Fowler with the third overall pick in the 2015 draft. He has 45 career sacks.
Additionally, Fowler was a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
The Panthers had high expectations for Chinn because of his versatility, but he only had 30 tackles in his career and missed five games due to a serious quad injury.
Even in his healthy state, down He said that a change of scenery was necessary because of the stretch of games he didn’t get many meaningful snaps (12 against the Green Bay Packers, 11 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and 22 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).