Adam Schefter on the Pat McAfee Show reported on Monday that Miami will have interest in free-agent quarterback Marcus Mariota.
“There could be a little bit of interest in Marcus Mariota between the Raiders and Dolphins..
He’s gonna have some choices this offseason”@AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/H1vRP3IPuE
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 3, 2025
Mariota will turn 32 years old in October of this year and was the former 2nd overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota has played for the Titans, Raiders, Falcons, Eagles, and Commanders since entering the NFL.
During his 10 years in the NFL Mariota has 97 passing touchdowns and 55 interceptions.
Mariota is also from Hawaii, like Tua, and per reports the two are friends.
The Dolphins need to address the backup quarterback situation after many years of ignoring it with lackluster options. Tua cannot be counted on to stay healthy, and as we saw this past season, when he goes down, Miami struggles to compete and win games. They could always look to the draft to address the backup quarterback situation but that seems less than ideal with Miami being in a “win now” mode.
Mariota fits the bill of the perfect type of backup quarterback for Tua in that he has experience and if he has to play a month or more, the Dolphins will have a chance to be competitive in games and possibly win.
While Mariota hasn’t lived up to the 2nd overall pick in the draft, he has had a decent NFL career.
This past year in very limited action, he threw 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions only seeing time in 3 games.
In 2022, Mariota started 13 games for the Atlanta Falcons and he threw 15 touchdowns and 9 interceptions and for 2,219 yards. He also rushed for 4 touchdowns in 2022 with the Falcons. The team was 5-8 in games Mariota started.
The options at backup quarterback this offseason are slim, as there aren’t many names that will move the needle or get Dolphins fans excited, but Mariota or someone with a similar resume would be a fine addition to the Dolphins quarterback room as that is exactly what they need.
Other available names are Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Gardner Minshew, and Andy Dalton to name a few.
More on this story as it develops
