Mariota would do a ton of work for the 49ers. First, he's mobile, which means he'd be a good fit for backing up the Trey Lance.
While national pundits argue over which 49ers should acquire the greatest quarterback of all time — Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady — the 49ers are reportedly searching for a backup quarterback.
And the No. 1 backup on his list appears to be quarterback Marcus Mariota.
The San Francisco 49ers are expected to kick the tires on QB Marcus Mariota. #NFL #FTTB #Niners
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) February 22, 2022
Mariota would do a ton of work for the 49ers. First, he's mobile, which means he'd be a good fit for backing up the Trey Lance. Mariota could theoretically play the same offense if Lance is injured and misses the game. Mariota averaged 6 yards per carry for the rest of his career.
Mariota was second choice in the 2016 draft, so he can relate to the pressure from Lance. And Mariota has started 61 games and won 29 of them. So the 49ers could probably win a few games with him if Lance missed a month or so.
But there's a reason Mariota is seen as a backup at this point in his career, not a starting quarterback.
He is brittle. He gets hurt a lot. And injuries have taken a toll on his athletic ability and confidence.
In that sense, he is a good choice for the 49ers, as he is a high-level backup with early experience that fits the new direction their offense is going. But Mariota is injured, and the 49ers have had the privilege of signing the injury-prone giants to significant contracts with guaranteed money. I don't know if it's the water in Santa Clara, the training staff or bad luck, but the 49ers have a poor track record of trying to rehabilitate broken veterans from other teams.
