Lions should stay away from Marcus Mariota as a backup quarterback option

Marcus Mariota is now a prominent name in the quarterback market, but the Detroit Lions can do way better for someone to backup Jared Goff.

It was expected, and on Tuesday the Atlanta Falcons indeed parted ways with quarterback Marcus Mariota. He now hits the market as an interesting and experienced name for any team looking to upgrade their backup situation.

Mariota started 13 games for the Falcons last season, throwing for 2,219 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions operating one of the (almost to a fault) run-heaviest offenses in the league. He added 438 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while completing over 61 percent of his passes.

Mariota had knee surgery late in the season, coincidentally or not timed and announced after he was benched for rookie Desmond Ridder. It was deemed a chronic knee issue, despite nary a mention on an injury report all season. In a broad sense it was a bad look for Mariota, as if he thought he did enough to keep the starting job and thus keep Ridder on the bench all season.

The Lions can do a lot better than Marcus Mariota as Jared Goff’s backup

The Lions are clearly putting some priority on the No. 2 quarterback spot behind Jared Goff. Mariota is at the very least an experienced option, with 74 starts (34-40 record) on his resume. Those starts came mostly with the Tennessee Titans (61 starts), over his first five seasons after being taken No. 2 overall in 2015.

Based on what the Lions had when Goff missed three games in 2021, let’s just keep calling it the “Tim Boyle Experience”, Mariota has at least been a viable NFL quarterback and would be an upgrade. But should being better than Boyle be the pure standard in the pursuit of a backup quarterback? That would be a resounding no, and it surely won’t be.

Going a little deeper, even if it was pure coincidence and completely legitimate or just unfortunate timing, Mariota bowing out to have knee surgery after he was benched by the Falcons does not fit the culture the Lions are building. If he hadn’t been benched it’s safe to assume he would’ve kept playing with what was said to be a chronic knee issue, and had surgery after the season. Instead, he effectively went home after he was benched.

The Lions can find a better quarterback than Mariota to backup Goff. Add in a hint of not being a fit for the culture, and the deal should be sealed already. Mariota will not, or should not, become a Detroit Lion.