Quarterback Marcus Mariota understood when he re-signed with the Washington Commanders this previous March that he will not see vital enjoying time throughout the upcoming season except starter Jayden Daniels goes down with an damage.
Mariota appears simply fantastic with persevering with to mentor Daniels for at the least yet one more yr.
“For me, it was a kind of issues arduous to move up, and also you wish to go someplace the place you’re wished,” Mariota lately mentioned about staying with Washington, as shared by Brian Mcinnis of Spectrum Information. “They usually had been very adamant that they wished me again for one more yr. I really like coach [head coach Dan Quinn] and simply [offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury] and the offense. And for me, it was, like, a no brainer. …No matter comes, in the event that they want me, I am able to play. In any other case, I am right here for [Daniels], and simply ensuring he is enjoying to the most effective of his potential.”
In June, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports activities Illustrated detailed how the Commanders retaining Kingsbury, Mariota, move sport coordinator Brian Johnson and quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard made it “simple for all the quarterbacks room to hit the bottom working when the offseason program began in April” coming off Washington’s journey to the NFC Championship Recreation. Daniels ran away with the Offensive Rookie of the 12 months Award after he accomplished what’s been known as among the best debut seasons ever produced by a quarterback, and he’ll as soon as once more have Mariota as a locker room confidant and adviser this coming fall.
As for Mariota, he in the end turned a journeyman after the Tennessee Titans made him the No. 2 choose of the 2015 NFL Draft. Thus, he has seen and skilled issues as a professional which can be international to a youthful potential celebrity reminiscent of Daniels, the second general selection of the 2024 player-selection course of.
“It was actually distinctive for me, as a result of I felt like I used to be sort of reliving my profession, in a way, the place I used to be attempting to assist information him on this, in methods the place perhaps I made a mistake or the place I may have been higher,” Mariota mentioned about working with Daniels. “So it is sort of like reliving that over again. That have was actually enjoyable for me. It was really actually rewarding. And to have somebody like Jay, who’s simply an unbelievable dude off the sphere, too.”
As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Commanders sixth among the many betting favorites at +1800 odds to win Tremendous Bowl LX in February 2026. A part of Mariota’s job later this yr could also be to make sure that such data would not go to Daniels’ head because the 24-year-old seems to be to keep away from enduring a so-called sophomore hunch.
