Marcus Mariota - Pro Football Rumors

South Notes: Jags, Brooks, Saints, Mariota

October 22nd, 2015 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Through at least the 2020 season, EverBank Field will continue to host seven Jaguars regular season games annually, rather than eight, as we learned earlier today. With Jacksonville having extended its relationship with Wembley Stadium through 2020, with an option for five additional years, the Jags will play at least one home game per year overseas for the foreseeable future.

While that announcement wasn’t a surprise, it’s worth keeping an eye on the Jags’ schedule over the next few years to see if they spend even more time in the United Kingdom. The team is a good candidate to become the first to play two consecutive games in London — likely one as a home team and one as a road team. Additionally, once Tottenham’s new stadium opens in 2018, the Jags would look like a prime candidate to play games there as well, given owner Shad Khan’s fondness for the market.

Here’s more on Khan, the Jaguars, and some other teams from the NFL’s two South divisions:

While Khan is disappointed with the Jaguars‘ 1-5 record to open the 2015 season, he said today that he still has “a huge amount of confidence” in GM Dave Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
Texans guard Brandon Brooks, who figures to be one of the more intriguing free agents at his position in 2016, was impressed by Marshal Yanda‘s new contract with the Ravens, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “Not bad at all,” Brooks said. “He deserves it.” For his part, Brooks could end up seeking a similar deal this winter.
Drew Brees is 36, and it’s time for the Saints to face reality and think about the future of the position, writes Pat Yasinskas of WalterFootball.com. Although Brees is coming off his best game of the season against Atlanta, Yasinskas rightly notes that there have been some signs that the veteran signal-caller is slowing down. If the Saints finish near the bottom of the league this year, they may have a chance to draft California quarterback Jared Goff, and that’s a pick that Yasinskas endorses.
Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota didn’t take part in practice today, and head coach Ken Whisenhunt said that tomorrow’s practice will reveal a lot about the QB’s availability for Week 7 (Twitter links via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com). Reports on the severity of Mariota’s injury have varied, with some suggesting he could be sidelined for multiple weeks, while others have indicated he should play this weekend.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC Notes: Broncos, Mariota, Yanda

October 20th, 2015 at 10:00pm CST by Zachary Links

In case you were too busy watching playoff baseball, here are a few AFC stories you might have missed this Tuesday:

The Broncos are being held back by more than quarterback Peyton Manning, and people around the league tell Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) that they believe Denver should trade for a tight end. Cole has heard the name of Rams tight end Jared Cook mentioned as someone who would be a good fit, but it’s unknown whether St. Louis would entertain trade offers. 49ers tight end Vernon Davis could be another player that would make sense for Denver.
The Titans are willing to give quarterback Marcus Mariota extra time to heal up, since they feel comfortable with using Zach Mettenberger as a fill-in, according to Cole (video link). Not only do the Titans feel that Mettenberger can be a capable quarterback in the short-term, but they are also eager to get him out there so that he can show his stuff to other teams in need of a quarterback. If Mettenberger looks good under center, he’ll increase his trade value and Tennessee could get something of worth in return for him.
Marshal Yanda‘s contract extension is a win-win for the Ravens and the Pro Bowl guard, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun writes. Yanda inked a four-year, $37.4MM extension late last week, giving him $17.8MM in guaranteed cash. The deal doesn’t make him the highest-paid guard in the league, but it did give him additional financial security. As for the Ravens, they were able to lock up a four-time Pro Bowl selection and prevent him from hitting the open market. Yanda was due to become a free agent following the season.

Extra Points: Relocation, Mariota, Hartley

October 19th, 2015 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

With the race to Los Angeles heating up, the NFL announced today that the league will conduct public hearings later this month in St. Louis, San Diego, and Oakland to discuss possible relocation (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The town hall meetings are meant to provide fans and community members in those cities an opportunity to ask questions and express views directly to the NFL before any decisions on relocation are made, according to the league’s press release.

As we wait to see how those meetings play out, let’s round up a few Monday odds and ends from across the NFL….

Speaking to reporters, Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt confirmed today that quarterback Marcus Mariota suffered a sprained MCL on Sunday. However, Whisenhunt said that Mariota is walking fine, and the team will determine later this week whether or not he’ll have to miss any games (Twitter links via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com).
Former Saints and Steelers kicker Garrett Hartley is fully recovered from his hamstring injury and is receiving some interest, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. New Orleans made a kicking change, but the team opted for another free agent – Kai Forbath – rather than Hartley.
If Colts owner Jim Irsay decides he wants to replace head coach Chuck Pagano, Peter King of TheMMQB.com expects Irsay to have interest in Sean Payton in the offseason, and adds that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get in touch with Jim Harbaugh as well. King doesn’t expect Harbaugh to leave Michigan, but thinks it would be worth seeing what his price would be.
Per ESPN’s Darren Rovell, Browns cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu received $3MM today from his loss-of-value insurance policy. It’s the largest amount of money that a player has ever been paid on such a policy, which the former Oregon defensive back was able to collect because his draft stock was significantly hurt by an ACL injury he suffered in college.

South Notes: Mariota, Texans, Bucs, Titans

October 19th, 2015 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

After taking a low hit to his knee on Sunday, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota continued to play, so the Tennessee coaching staff is “cautiously optimistic” about the status of that knee, says Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. According to Florio, Mariota is undergoing an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury, and the club is hoping that it’s just an MCL issue, which can heal with rest.

Here’s more from out of the NFL’s South divisions:

Texans safety Lonnie Ballentine will undergo surgery after dislocating his left knee and suffering significant ligament damage, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Ballentine’s 2015 season will be over, and he figures to land on injured reserve within the next few days.
Two free agent fullbacks are auditioning for the Buccaneers today, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, who tweets that ex-Giant Henry Hynoski and Emil Igwenagu are in town for the tryout.
After being traded by the Titans prior to the season, Falcons guard Andy Levitre is hoping to show his old team that it “made a bad decision” in getting rid of him, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com writes. A source tells McClure that Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt was never really a fan of Levitre in Tennessee, but Falcons head coach says the veteran guard has been a “great addition” for Atlanta.
Don’t expect the Titans to make a change at head coach or general manager during the season, says Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com.
After head coach Gus Bradley said that his Jaguars need to “learn how to finish” games when they have a lead, one player tells Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union that “a lot of people will be looking for a job” if the club can’t figure that out. Jacksonville lost its fourth straight game on Sunday, falling to 1-5 on the season.

Breer’s Latest: Colts, Maxwell, Los Angeles

September 18th, 2015 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

A week after Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota – the top two picks in the 2015 draft – squared off in Tampa Bay, Albert Breer of the NFL Network spoke to Buccaneers GM Jason Licht and Titans GM Ruston Webster, and both executives are still very happy with the choices they made back in April. Of course, there wasn’t much to dislike about Mariota’s Week 1 performance for Webster, and even though Winston struggled, Licht says the team “saw some flashes of great play” and still has a lot of faith in the No. 1 overall pick.

As Breer notes, history suggests that a rookie quarterback’s performance in the first week of the regular season doesn’t necessarily reflect what kind of career – or even what kind of season – he’ll have, so it’s hard to draw too many conclusions from Mariota winning round one over Winston.

Let’s round up a few more of Breer’s items of interest….

Colts owner Jim Irsay wants to make the most out of Andrew Luck‘s time in Indianapolis after the Colts only won one championship in 14 years with Peyton Manning, and there’s a belief that Irsay will have an itchy trigger finger with his decision-making as a result. If the 2015 season ends the same way the last three seasons have, Irsay will look to make changes, according to Breer, who says the Colts’ owner may go “big-game hunting” if he decides to replace Chuck Pagano as head coach.
In examining Byron Maxwell‘s unsteady start with the Eagles, Breer cites one NFC executive who has said in the past that teams’ biggest free agent mistakes often involve projecting players into bigger roles. In Maxwell’s case, he was surrounded by Pro Bowl caliber defensive backs in Seattle, but is being relied upon as the No. 1 option in Philadelphia after inking a lucrative long-term contract. It remains to be seen whether Maxwell’s poor performance vs. the Falcons was a one-week blip or a sign of things to come.
St. Louis and San Diego reps won’t get an opportunity to make presentations at the NFL’s owners meetings in October, but that doesn’t mean the subject of Los Angeles won’t be discussed. As Breer writes, owners could address and agree to a relocation fee, and figure out how it would be paid. The league may also try to finalize a temporary stadium for 2016 and a new window for applying for relocation, since the current window (January 1 to February 15) is expected to be moved up.
Within his L.A.-related observations, Breer also says that Dean Spanos and his Chargers have garnered the most sympathy around the NFL based on his situation, so it seems extremely unlikely that any relocation scenario would leave the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium — the franchise figures to either move to L.A. or get a stadium solution worked out in San Diego.

Extra Points: Cowboys, Wilkerson

September 12th, 2015 at 8:07pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Cowboys made the wise decision to select ex-Notre Dame offensive guard Zack Martin 16th overall in the 2014 draft, but they did so against owner Jerry Jones’ wishes, chief operating officer Stephen Jones – Jerry’s son – told David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.

“Let’s go over this quarterback thing one more time,” said Jerry Jones, despite hearing endorsements of Martin from Stephen Jones, senior director of college/pro personnel Will McClay, head coach Jason Garrett and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.

The Cowboys then tried – and failed – to move down in the draft before settling on Martin.

“Son, if you want to do special things in life, you can’t keep picking and doing things down the middle,” Jerry said to Stephen afterward. “What we just did was down the middle.”

Martin did special things as a rookie, earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. Quarterback Johnny Manziel, whom Dallas could have taken instead of Martin, had a poor first year both on and off the field and enters his second season backing up journeyman Josh McCown in Cleveland.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported earlier Saturday that the Jets and defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson are far apart on contract talks and unlikely to continue negotiating when the season starts Sunday. However, there is not – nor has there ever been – a hard Sunday deadline to get a deal done, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). That means the two sides could still hammer out a long-term extension during the season.
Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt, speaking to SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link), showered praise on rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota. “It was amazing how quickly our team bonded with Mariota. He has a businesslike professional approach. Doesn’t get rattled.” Mariota, the second overall pick in this year’s draft, will square off against the No. 1 selection, Bucs QB Jameis Winston, on Sunday.
The Browns won’t improve on their 7-9 record from 2014 without another big year from their defensive backfield, writes Tom Reed of Cleveland.com. The group includes three Pro Bowlers in Joe Haden, Tashaun Gipson and Donte Whitner. Gipson believes he’s part of the best secondary in the league. “Any time you get together this kind of talent nothing bad can go wrong in our eyes,” he said. “If we execute the game plan and play fast I feel there’s no better secondary out than us.”
The five-year, $45MM extension the Cowboys signed Tyrone Crawford to Saturday makes the Eagles’ recent four-year, $29MM pact with Mychal Kendricks look better, opines former Eagles and Browns executive Joe Banner. Kendricks’ deal is the best one any team has given out this year, Banner thinks (Twitter link).

Details On Marcus Mariota’s Partial Offsets

July 25th, 2015 at 6:26pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Titans became the final team to come to terms with their first-round pick earlier this week, agreeing to a standard four-year deal with a fifth-year option with quarterback Marcus Mariota. The delay in negotiations was largely (if not entirely) due to haggling over offsets, and as such, the final contract reportedly contains partial offset language, the details of which we’ve learned today.

According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (all Twitter links), the only portion of Mariota’s $24.214MM contract that would be subject to offsets are his base salaries, which total just $2.28MM. Mariota’s signing bonus, which is worth roughly $15.87MM, and his roster bonuses — $1.011MM in 2016, $2.021MM in 2017, and $3.032MM in 2018 — are protected. Additionally, Pelissero reports that those roster bonuses are due on the fifth day of training camp each year.

Speaking on the subject nearly two weeks ago, Titans CEO and president Steve Underwood seemed adamant that the club would not budge on the issue of offsets. “We’ve always had offset language in our player contracts. It’s nothing new,” Underwood said. “I think it is important where a high first-round draft pick is concerned, because it’s the precedent. Everything that we do is precedential for the next round of contracts.”

Instead, it appears as though Tennessee caved on the issue; the club could point to the fact that some offsets were included as a win, but for the most part, this looks like a victory for Mariota and his camp. For what it’s worth, No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston didn’t force the issue on offsets, choosing instead to agree to a contract with the Bucs the day after he was drafted. Only one player selected in the top 10 – third overall pick Dante Fowler Jr. – has a deal without any offset language.

As explained by Luke Adams of PFR last summer, offset language relates to what happens to a player’s salary if he’s cut during the first four years of his career, while he’s still playing on his rookie contract. For the top 15 to 20 picks in the draft, those four-year salaries will be fully guaranteed, even if a player is waived at some point during those four seasons. For example, if a player has $4MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract and is cut, he’ll still be owed that $4MM.

However, if a team has written offset language into the contract, that club can save some money if and when the player signs with a new team. For example, if that player who had $4MM in guaranteed money left on his contract signs with a new club on a $1MM deal, his old team would only be on the hook for $3MM, with the new team making up the difference. If there’s no offset language on that first deal, the old team would continue to be on the hook for the full $4MM, and the player would simply earn an additional $1MM from his new club.

Titans Sign Marcus Mariota

July 21st, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Zachary Links

6:45pm: The deal has partial offset language, according to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com (on Twitter).

6:35pm: Finally, it’s a done deal. The Titans announced on Tuesday night that they have signed rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota.

“We are glad to have the deal with Marcus done, and I’d like to thank both Marcus and his representatives for their diligence in working with us to finalize this contract,” said Titans Executive Vice President and General Manager Ruston Webster. “We were confident that Marcus would be under contract before training camp, and we look forward to him starting his career on time with his teammates when we open camp next week. This is an exciting time for the Tennessee Titans organization, and we look forward to a bright future.”

Negotiations between Tennessee and the No. 2 overall pick went on much, much longer than anyone anticipated. Eventually, it came to light that the dispute stemmed from whether the contract would include offset language. As explained by Luke Adams of PFR last summer, offset language relates to what happens to a player’s salary if he’s cut during the first four years of his career, while he’s still playing on his rookie contract. For the top 15 to 20 picks in the draft, those four-year salaries will be fully guaranteed, even if a player is waived at some point during those four seasons. For example, if a player has $4MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract and is cut, he’ll still be owed that $4MM.

However, if a team has written offset language into the contract, that club can save some money if and when the player signs with a new team. For example, if that player who had $4MM in guaranteed money left on his contract signs with a new club on a $1MM deal, his old team would only be on the hook for $3MM, with the new team making up the difference. If there’s no offset language on that first deal, the old team would continue to be on the hook for the full $4MM, and the player would simply earn an additional $1MM from his new club.

No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston didn’t force the issue on offsets, choosing instead to agree to a contract with the Bucs the day after he was drafted. Only one player selected in the top 10 – third overall pick Dante Fowler Jr. – has a deal without offset language.

In 2014, the Hawaii native directed the most efficient offense (23.5) in the country and led all quarterbacks nationally with a total quarterback rating of 90.9. Mariota finished the season ranked third among FBS quarterbacks with 4,454 passing yards and amassed 42 passing touchdowns, while rushing for 770 yards and 15 scores. The Oregon QB was regarded by some as the best signal caller in the draft, though the Bucs felt differently and selected Winston No. 1.

Now, only two draft picks remain unsigned: Colts cornerback D’Joun Smith and Colts defensive lineman Henry Anderson.

Titans Not Budging On Offsets For Mariota

July 14th, 2015 at 8:37pm CST by Zachary Links

For months, the Titans and No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota have been at an impasse over whether there would be offset language in his contract. Mariota remains unsigned, but Titans interim CEO and president Steve Underwood says that the team will not buckle on this issue, as ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky writes.

“We’ve always had offset language in our player contracts. It’s nothing new,” Underwood said. “I think it is important where a high first-round draft pick is concerned, because it’s the precedent. Everything that we do is precedential for the next round of contracts. “So keeping the offset in place is something we want to be able to do going forward. And the minute you back away from the contract principle then you no longer are able to assert it going forward.”

Underwood went on to explain that if he made an exception in Mariota’s case, it would “echo into eternity with player contracts.” Fearful of setting a player-friendly precedent going forward, Underwood says he’s willing to continue this standoff. Underwood also indicated that while missed time at the start of camp isn’t ideal, it also wouldn’t be the end of the world.

The good news for Titans fans is that Underwood says offset language is the last real sticking point in negotiations, so this should be a done deal once that issue is resolved. It’s surprising that the Titans are this adamant about offsets since the odds of it becoming relevant before the end of Mariota’s deal are slim, but the team is apparently more concerned about how it will affect future dealings than how it will affect the No. 2 overall pick.

As explained by Luke Adams of PFR last summer, offset language relates to what happens to a player’s salary if he’s cut during the first four years of his career, while he’s still playing on his rookie contract. For the top 15 to 20 picks in the draft, those four-year salaries will be fully guaranteed, even if a player is waived at some point during those four seasons. For example, if a player has $4MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract and is cut, he’ll still be owed that $4MM.

However, if a team has written offset language into the contract, that club can save some money if and when the player signs with a new team. For example, if that player who had $4MM in guaranteed money left on his contract signs with a new club on a $1MM deal, his old team would only be on the hook for $3MM, with the new team making up the difference. If there’s no offset language on that first deal, the old team would continue to be on the hook for the full $4MM, and the player would simply earn an additional $1MM from his new club.

No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston didn’t force the issue on offsets, choosing instead to agree to a contract with the Bucs the day after he was drafted. Only one player selected in the top 10 – third overall pick Dante Fowler Jr. – has a deal without offset language.

Mariota passed for more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns, leading Oregon to the National Championship Game against Ohio State.

Extra Points: Rice, Mariota, McQuillan

July 6th, 2015 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The July 4th holiday weekend is behind us, which means we’re inching slightly closer to the start of NFL training camps. As we continue to count down the days until the 2015 preseason gets underway, let’s round up a few odds and ends from around the league….

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk checks in on Ray Rice, noting that the running back still hasn’t drawn interest from NFL teams, eight months after his indefinite suspension was overturned.
As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk observes, it’s odd that offsets are the holdup between the Titans and unsigned first-rounder Marcus Mariota, since the chances of offsets becoming relevant before the end of Mariota’s rookie contract are extremely slim.
Most players who enter the supplemental draft don’t get picked, but former UConn tight end Sean McQuillan – one of seven prospects eligible for this Thursday’s draft – isn’t lacking for confidence, writes Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant. “First of all, I’m going to make it, and second of all, there isn’t a backup plan,” McQuillan said. “I’m confident I’m going to be able to do this thing. I’m prepared for this. I’m going to show them I’m athletic, I’m versatile, I can do a bunch of different things. I’m confident and I’m ready for this next step, so I haven’t thought about anything else.”
In his list of the three most team-friendly veteran wide receiver contracts in the NFL, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap lists all AFC players: Julian Edelman of the Patriots, Emmanuel Sanders of the Broncos, and Antonio Brown of the Steelers.
Former Auburn running back Onterio McCalebb started his career with the Bengals as a cornerback, but the team is trying him at wide receiver this summer, as Mark Inabinett of AL.com details.