As the Washington Football Team continues its search for a quarterback, their offseason inquiries at one point led them to Las Vegas, according to a report from The Athletic.
"Washington tried to acquire Marcus Mariota from the Raiders, according to multiple sources, but talks have cooled off," Ben Standig reports for The Athletic.
"Whatever the reason," Standig writes, "Mariota's salary in the remaining year on his contract — $10.75 million to $22 million, based on reachable escalator clauses — makes for tricky math and planning when calculating the balance sheet."
"Reworking Mariota's contract to cap his max in the $14 million to $15 million range, and fully guaranteeing that money, is plausible," Standig adds.
Standig's reporting meshes with previous rumblings about Washington and Mariota. Several weeks back, former NFL executive Michael Lombardi said Washington was "extremely interested" in Mariota, while also noting those same contract concerns.
(Ben Standig spoke to Kevin Sheehan about Washington's pursuit of Marcus Mariota and more beginning at 5:18 here:)
Last week, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the trade market for Mariota had "dried up significantly" when teams that were previously interested learned of the performance incentives in his contract. For that reason, the Raiders "could be forced to release Mariota,'' Rapoport said.
Considering both Standig and Rapoport's reporting, any team still interested in Mariota's services, Washington included, may be wise to wait the Raiders out and take a shot on acquiring the 27-year-old quarterback in free agency.
What's becoming more and more clear is Washington is exploring any and all options at the quarterback position. After re-signing Taylor Heinicke to a contract extension in February, the club is expected to release 36-year-old Alex Smith in the coming days, according to multiple reports, and many believe at some point it will bring back Kyle Allen, who is an exclusive rights free agent.
In an unusually active trade market for QBs, we know Washington put in a bid for Matthew Stafford, before he was ultimately dealt to the Rams, and has also shown interest in Derek Carr, Sam Darnold, and Russell Wilson.
There are a number of ways to view Washington's no-stone-unturned approach to the QB position. At the very least, it tells you they're doing their due diligence, exploring every potential avenue, which seems like the right tact to take with no obvious starter currently on the roster and an enormous pile of cash to spend.
It also tells you Washington seems, at least on the surface, committed to staging a legitimate QB competition come the start of training camp, something head coach Ron Rivera regrets not doing in 2020.
Lastly, it tells you Washington's not particularly sold on any of its in-house options, which as of now, includes Heinicke (re-signed), Smith (expected to be released), and Steven Montez, their 2020 undrafted free agent signing who spent all of last season on the practice squad.
