The Las Vegas Raiders completely retooled their roster in free agency this offseason, strengthening a number of positions for the 2020 NFL season.
One position that they seemed to really focus on was quarterback. Although they did not replace Derek Carr as the starter, they did bring in a backup with starter experience in Marcus Mariota.
The former No. 2 overall pick out of Oregon not only will help push Carr to be better, but he also is a running threat so could see some packages of his own throughout the course of the season.
Mariota recently spoke for the first time since joining the Raiders in an interview with Rob DeMello of KHON News, and he emphasized how excited his is to be heading to Las Vegas to play for a stable organization closer to home
“Words can’t even express how excited, how happy we are as a family. These last five years have been a blessing, no doubt. Nashville has treated us very well, but this is a great opportunity for us. It’s an opportunity closer to home and also to be a part of a great organization. There were two priorities that I had while I was going through this free agency process and No. 1 was to find stability. I wanted to be a part of an organization that had a stable head coach, that had stability in the front office. And then secondly for me, I wanted to be a part of a coaching staff that could bring out the best in me, that could embrace my talents and to just kind of put my best foot forward. The bonus and the cherry on top of it was being closer to home and being in Vegas, and again, I really can’t stress it enough, we’re so excited.”
Mariota grew up in Hawaii, so this is the closest he will be playing to home since he was at Oregon. Playing in front of friends and family again is something he is extra excited about:
“Yes, absolutely. And for me, it’s almost been 10 years since I’ve played at home and to play in front of friends and family. I think, for me, this is as close as it gets and I’m just so thrilled to be able to have that opportunity to be able to share the moments with family and friends and I just can’t wait, I truly just can’t wait.”
The Raiders signed Mariota to a two-year contract, so they clearly had him as a priority of theirs as well. Having a former No. 2 overall pick that has started 61 career games as a backup will be a huge advantage for the Raiders in the event that Carr struggles or gets injured.
