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Marcus Mariota reportedly signs with the Commanders

Mariota played sparingly in his lone season as the Eagles’ backup quarterback, appearing in three regular-season games.

Eagles quarterback Marcus Mariota passing against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Jan. 7.
Eagles quarterback Marcus Mariota passing against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Jan. 7.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
    by EJ Smith
    Published 

Marcus Mariota is staying in the Eagles’ division.

The 30-year-old quarterback who spent last year behind Jalen Hurts agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Washington Commanders on Tuesday, according to an ESPN report.

Mariota played sparingly in his lone season as the Eagles’ backup, appearing in three regular-season games when Hurts was dealing with a minor injury or pulled with the game out of reach. He threw just 23 passes all season, completing 15 of them for 164 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

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Mariota’s departure leaves the Eagles with Hurts and second-year signal-caller Tanner McKee on the depth chart. McKee showed signs of promise in his first preseason, especially in contrast to Mariota’s struggles during the summer. McKee, a sixth-round pick out of Stanford, went 39-for-72 for 453 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions in the preseason.

The Commanders’ quarterback hierarchy will come into focus more clearly after the NFL draft. They still have last year’s starter Sam Howell under contract and now add Mariota roughly six weeks before they’ll select No. 2 overall in a draft class led by several highly touted quarterback prospects. Although USC prospect Caleb Williams is the presumptive first pick, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels are both considered worthy of the No. 2 pick if the Commanders feel they need to upgrade at the position.