A lot of Chicago Bears fans are anxious to see if the team will do something at quarterback. They appear trapped in a no-win scenario at present. Mitch Trubisky is regressing further and further by the week. Chase Daniel is a true backup who will never be able to overcome his physical limitations. With the Bears 3-3, it feels like the season is slipping away and some sort of drastic move must be made to snap them out of their funk. A move for a quarterback might be just the ticket. So what about a Marcus Mariota trade.
Of all the names on the trade rumor circuit, this is one people tend to bring up a lot. The reasons aren’t hard to see. The Tennessee Titans benched the former #2 overall pick in favor of backup Ryan Tannehill. This was brought on after two rough outings against the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos where he was sacked eight times and threw two interceptions. Then Tannehill responded in his first start with over 300 yards and two touchdowns against the Chargers.
This explains why Marc Sessler of NFL.com thinks the team should move to trade him.
“Sell quarterback Marcus Mariota. Why not? His Titans career is essentially curtains after being benched for Ryan Tannehill. With zero leverage inside the organization, Mariota could use a fresh start…The odds of this happening are low, but the alternative is watching Mariota walk out the door for nothing mere months from now. Potential compensation: 2020 Day 3 pick.”
Marcus Mariota trade makes sense for the Bears
From a business standpoint, the move does make sense for Tennessee. Mariota will be a free agent after the season ends and his odds of returning are almost non-existent. Getting a pick for him in a trade would at least be some compensation. At the same time, he’s still valuable to them as a backup. What if Tannehill goes down with an injury after he’s dealt? Then they’d really be screwed. So the team brass might think it’s just best for the team this year to keep him around in case of emergency.
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The Bears though have good reasons to consider this idea. Mariota is a proven starter who has played well at times this season. Usually when he gets halfway decent protection. His career passer rating is 89.6. This despite being sacked 155 times in just 62 games. In fact, he has a passer rating of 90.62 when he’s sacked two times or fewer in a game. Throw in the reality that he’s played with mostly average wide receivers and it’s fair to wonder if things might be different with Allen Robinson as a go-to guy.
There’s also the 10 comebacks in the 4th quarter he’s engineered, including a memorable one in the playoffs back in 2017. His skill set is a perfect fit for the offense the Bears like to run. Not a surprise since Mark Helfrich, their offensive coordinator, was Mariota’s head coach at Oregon. The Bears have five picks on Day 3 of the 2020 draft including three 5th round selections. If that would be enough to secure Mariota, it might be worth the risk.
