With the limited free agent quarterback pool, should the Washington Commanders turn to a familiar name for a third season?
Should Washington re-sign Marcus Mariota?
With the offensive staff beginning to take form with now several hires under coordinator David Blough following reports of two more promotions on Monday, the narrative around the Washington Commanders will soon shift toward addressing the question marks at several positions.
While that includes upgrading the wide receiver room and finding a replacement for Zack Ertz with head coach Dan Quinn previously noting he was not expected to be available for the start of the 2026 season - if he does opt to return - another question sits in the quarterback room.
Of course, all eyes will be on whether Jayden Daniels can stay healthy after injuries limited him to just four complete games and seven appearances in 2025 with limited availability proving to be the theme of the offense in year two under coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Daniels, who will also suit up in Riyadh in Fanatics' event in March, is one of two quarterbacks under contract next season alongside Sam Hartman, who the staff elected to bypass for starting consideration over the final two games after starting Josh Johnson and signing Jeff Driskel from Arizona. And after watching Daniels struggle with health in 2025, who the backup quarterback is in 2026 is worth tracking.
Still, Nick Shook of NFL.com pointed to Marcus Mariota as one of eight quarterbacks who must be re-signed this offseason, joining Malik Willis in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh, Daniel Jones in Indianapolis, Tyler Huntley in Baltimore, Gardner Minshew in Kansas City, Jimmy Garoppolo with the Rams and Trey Lance with the Chargers.
Mariota has inked one-year deals with Washington in each of the last two offseasons and with a limited pool of potential backup quarterbacks available, a potential reunion makes sense on the surface. Whether that materializes with Kingsbury no longer in Washington is the next question, but Shook noted, "this regime just got a season-long taste of life without a star quarterback; the powers that be should know quite well how valuable Mariota can be for them."
Mariota left in the opening minutes of the second quarter in the week 16 loss vs. Philadelphia with multiple injuries before being ruled out in each of the final two games. He finished the season with 11 appearances where he completed 61.2% of his passes while throwing for 1,695 yards and ten touchdowns to seven interceptions with Washington 2-6 across his eight starts.
Mariota has served in a backup role in each of the last three seasons after joining Washington following one season with the Philadelphia Eagles, but he also enters the offseason as one of the more experienced quarterbacks, potentially a chance to capitalize on a bigger contract. Russell Wilson, Case Keenum, Mitchell Trubisky, Carson Wentz and Zach Wilson are among the other notable quarterbacks available this upcoming offseason in addition to the mentioned players in the report.
Mariota is among the over 30 free agents the Commanders' front office is tasked with either replacing or re-signing this offseason, including a handful of key decisions.