Arguments against the Steelers going after Marcus Mariota
From the end of the season until the present day, I think I’ve seen other websites, TV and radio shows link no fewer than 30 different quarterbacks to the Pittsburgh Steelers, all trying to predict the best fit to replace the now retired Ben Roethlisberger.
In a series of upcoming articles, I’m going to highlight the pros and cons… just kidding. Only the cons – that is, of the Steelers acquiring a veteran quarterback this offseason.
This article focuses strictly on Marcus Mariota and his current situation.
Note: unlike several of the other “argument” columns I have written, Mariota is scheduled to be a free agent.
He’s a turnover machine
In his last meaningful NFL playing time, over his last two seasons with the Titans, Mariota’s stats are pretty rotten. With 491 pass attempts over 21 games, he completed 65.8% of his throws but for only 3,731 yards and 18 touchdowns.
He also threw 10 interceptions and had 12 fumbles over the same span…
Step 2: Read Step 1 (He’s a negative play machine)
That’s not the most alarming of Mariota’s statistics during his time in Tennessee: he took 67 sacks…
Yes, that’s 67 sacks over those 491 attempts. For a mobile quarterback, that’s an awful lot. For any quarterback, that’s downright terrible.
Yet, there’s a segment of fans who are true believers that Mariota was simply in bad situations and can redeem himself: I’m certain these same fans also believe the Steelers offensive line isn’t good.
That stands to reason, logically, that Mariota won’t be better behind a not better line. It also stands to reason that he sees a lot more ghosts than his peers.
Consider that with the poor O-line the last two seasons, Ben Roethlisberger took 51 over his last 1,213 attempts in two seasons. Washington’s Taylor Heinicke was sacked 38 times in 494 pass attempts in 2021. Detroit’s Jared Goff went down 35 times with the same amount of tries too.
The league’s most-sacked quarterbacks of 2021 were Joe Burrow (51) and Ryan Tannehill (47), and that was on 520 and 531 attempts, respectively. (Read: many more attempts means more chances of getting taken down.)
Fumble-ota
Why am I focusing so strongly on sacks being taken by Mariota? Negative plays: losing yards and losing the football.
Mariota is holding the ball too long, and my already referenced dozen fumbles in those last 491 attempts adds to his 34 total in 61 starts with Tennessee.
Dwayne Haskins is closer to the same distinction, with 12 fumbles in 444 attempts, but has taken fewer sacks (49) despite being a pocket passer. Mason Rudolph, on the other hand, has five fumbles in 384 attempts, but has only taken 16 sacks.
Adding Mariota to the mix doesn’t guarantee any new wrinkles to the Steelers offense and may actually put them at greater risk of having their defense on the field more often.
Even QB whisperer Jon Gruden didn’t trust him to throw
In 11 appearances with the Raiders, Mariota has a total of 30 pass attempts: 28 of those were in 2020, and only 2 were in 2021.
I know that Mariota wasn’t the starting quarterback in these scenarios, but he wasn’t trusted to throw when he was in those games, instead carrying the ball almost as many times. (22 to be exact.)
This further scares me, given Mariota hasn’t been a full-time NFL quarterback in over two and a half seasons, and may have further rust that may deteriorate his already lacking play.
He’s had one decent season
All of Mariota’s bandwagon can point to a single season where he’s had any semblance of success: 2016.
While Mariota’s rookie year wasn’t terrible by first-year quarterback standards, his sophomore season looked promising, as he threw for 26 touchdowns and limited his picks below double-digits. He also took fewer sacks and ran for a career-high 349 yards.
However, he also fumbled ten times in that season, and the one before it. He would never replicate this season, throwing more 24 touchdowns to 23 interceptions in his next two seasons before losing his job with the Titans in 2019.
There’s way more evidence of the type of player Mariota is at the pro level with 61 starts and 74 appearances to believe he’s more of the latter years than his former, younger seasons.
Final Thoughts
I don’t believe that Marcus Mariota is an upgrade over the current troupe of Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins.
In the case of Rudolph and Haskins, neither has had the same amount of starts or appearances to prove themselves, while Mariota joining the depth chart would steal valuable time for either’s development: all for someone who is my dreaded “stop-gap” word… which is just another way of saying you’re comfortable with losing.
If I were the Steelers, I’d stand pat with the two QBs they currently have than dip into the free agency pool for a player of Mariota’s caliber.
