Houston Texans: 3 free agent QBs to bring in for competition in 2022
Houston Texans first invitation should go to Marcus Mariota
28. Stats. Pick Analysis. QB. Oregon. 8. MarcusMariota. player
It’s been a wild ride for the former second-overall pick Marcus Mariota. After being taken by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft, Mariota enjoyed a few seasons of what would be a prelude to a Taysom Hill-like role with the Titans as their starting quarterback. However, since he joined the Las Vegas Raiders, he’s been one of the more prized backup quarterbacks.
That’s from the one game he played in 2020 in relief of Derek Carr, who was injured. In that game Mariota played, he went 17/28 for 226 yards with one passing touchdown and one interception. Mariota also added nine carries on the ground for 88 yards and a touchdown. While the Raiders lost that game to the LA Chargers 30-27, it put the spotlight back on Mariota.
Mariota can still play, and he is only 28 years old as of this writing. This could be Houston’s top target, as a mobile quarterback who’s not at or past the proverbial “30 and over cliff” are rare and hard to find.
This could be Mariota’s job to lose. That is, of course, if he hits free agency. Mariota stayed with the Raiders for this season because they had a “stable head coach,” among other reasons. Unfortunately, that statement doesn’t look good now with the Jon Gruden fiasco.
Mariota could change this Texans’ offense by taking plays out of the pocket and making throws on the run to help the offensive line.