NFL teams have less than a week remaining to trim their rosters to 53 players, and one well-known quarterback might be on the bubble.
The Philadelphia Eagles signed Marcus Mariota to a 1-year, $5 million contract this offseason. The deal could be worth as much as $8 million with incentives. That is top money for a backup quarterback, but Mariota has not justified it with his play this preseason.
Eric Edholm of NFL.com published a column on Thursday in which he listed several notable players who could be cut before the start of the season. Mariota topped the list. Edholm noted that Mariota’s roster spot could be in jeopardy after “two lackluster preseason outings and a series of rough camp reports.”
Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, has been outplayed by rookie sixth-round pick Tanner McKee during the preseason. Mariota barely played in Thursday night’s preseason finale against the Indianapolis Colts. He completed 1 of 2 passes for 21 yards, while McKee went 19/34 for 158 yards. McKee also took two sacks.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni recently downplayed the idea of McKee taking the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind Jalen Hurts. However, Mariota has done nothing to show he would be capable of keeping the Eagles afloat in the event that Hurts went down.
Mariota lost his starting job with the Atlanta Falcons last season and has been on a downward career trend. The Eagles would have to incur a cap hit of nearly $2 million if they cut him, but they may prefer McKee’s upside at this point.
