On the surface, it’s been a typical camp for Eagles backup quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Working in his eighth offensive system in his ninth NFL season, the journeyman has shown a couple of flashes with his new team. In other instances, Mariota has appeared out of sync with his pass catchers — he’s the only quarterback to throw multiple interceptions over the first week and a half of training camp.
As Mariota attempts to memorize yet another playbook, the No. 2 pick of the 2015 NFL draft has relied heavily on the Eagles’ main conductor for advice and overall insight.
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“It starts with Jalen [Hurts],” Mariota said after Thursday’s practice. “He’s a guy that has played at a high level now consistently. For him, I think he’s gone through a lot in his short career. Being able to come together and talk through scenarios, situations — why he sees a certain play this way or why I may see a certain play that way. All in all, when you’re able to have those open lines of communication and create that type of dialogue, it makes the entire room better.”
The Eagles hope they identified a serviceable reserve to their franchise quarterback. Mariota and Hurts have been compared stylistically because of their unique abilities to create off-schedule plays and also with executing the run-pass option.
Mariota, who signed a one-year deal worth $5 million, has played in 87 career games (74 starts) across eight seasons with the Titans, Raiders, and Falcons. He has recorded 15,656 passing yards with 92 touchdowns, 54 interceptions, and has completed 62.6% of his passes. Mariota also has been a formidable threat in the run game with 2,012 career rushing yards (5.8 average) and 17 touchdowns. This summer alone, Mariota has taken off from the pocket more than a handful of times each practice.
“Those previous experiences have helped me learn and kind of develop how I think,” Mariota said. “… A lot of it comes down to, how I want to go through my progressions, how you want to read this, what are we trying to attack? There’s only so many plays that you can do, really, but it’s learning how they want to do it and why they’re doing it this way.”
Said veteran running back Boston Scott: “[Mariota’s] still learning the playbook, but he’s a really smart guy. It’s going to take time, but you can see the tools for sure.”
In an effort to expedite the learning curve under coach Nick Sirianni, new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, and position coach Alex Tanney, Mariota enjoys drawing out each play before and after practice. Through five training camp sessions, Mariota has worked exclusively with the second-team offense.
“His skill set has some similarities in some of the ways he runs it to Jalen,” Sirianni said. “It’s just getting him caught up to speed. … I think you see his athletic ability on display. He made a really nice play the other day in practice where he got flushed out of the pocket, stepped up, and ripped a crossing route to Greg Ward. I thought that just showed the kind of player we saw on tape and why we wanted him here. We’re pleased with where he is, and he is just going to continue to get better as he gets more comfortable in this scheme.”
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The Eagles would prefer if Mariota stayed put on the sideline throughout the season, but Hurts’ track record indicates Mariota could be under center at some point over the next six months. Hurts has missed three games over the last two seasons due to injury. Former backup Gardner Minshew went 1-2 during those three spot starts.
“It really comes down to being another ear, another pair of eyes for the guy that’s playing,” Mariota said. “You always have to be ready just in case your moment comes up. It’s too hard to sit here and butt heads with your quarterback group. When you have a strong quarterback group that really relies on one another and supports one another, you create confidence in that group that really helps the entire team out. I try to embrace that and be that guy for Jalen.”
Despite being separated by more than five years in age, Hurts, who turns 25 on Monday, and Mariota, 30 in October, have quickly developed a rapport.
“It’s been really cool to be around him,” Hurts said. “His experience, how he sees the game, I’m all for it because I’m a sponge and I want to soak in that knowledge.”