Marcus Mariota excited to finally be an Eagle: ‘I’m going to do whatever I can to help Jalen out’

Marcus Mariota has seen plenty over the course of his turbulent NFL career.

The new Eagles quarterback reflected on his journey Wednesday afternoon, when he was introduced by the team at the NovaCare Complex.

Mariota, 29, arrives in Philadelphia with 24-year-old Jalen Hurts entrenched as the starter. Hurts is coming off the best year of his young career; he finished as an NFL MVP finalist while leading the Eagles to Super Bowl LVII.

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The veteran Mariota, who has played with the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons, is hoping to be a resource for Hurts and the Eagles.

“I’m at a point in my career where I’ve experienced everything,” Mariota said. “I’ve been the [starter]; I’ve been the scout team guy; I’ve been released. So through all those different situations and scenarios, I’ve gathered a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge. ... I just want to enjoy the game. I want to have fun doing it. The scheme is very exciting for me, and the fact of the matter is, I think I can help Jalen. If we can make Jalen a better player, this team is going to be better.

“To be part of a team that was a play away from winning the Super Bowl, it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I’m very excited to be in this quarterback room. I’m going to do whatever I can to help Jalen out.”

Mariota signing with Eagles is somewhat of a full-circle moment for both parties.

Former Eagles coach Chip Kelly, who coached Mariota at Oregon, attempted to trade up and select Mariota in the 2015 draft. However, the Titans declined Kelly’s offer and they drafted Mariota, the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner, with the No. 2 overall pick.

Roughly eight years later, Mariota is finally an Eagle.

“I think it’s easy eight years, nine years later to play the what-if game,” Mariota said. “But I’m forever grateful for the Titans to give me an opportunity. I am grateful for the time I had with the Raiders, and the time I spent with the Falcons. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I think ultimately it’s not only made me a better football player, but it’s made me a better man. We can always play the what-if game, but at the end of the day, I’m excited to be here now and I look forward to doing what I can for this team.”

Mariota boasts relationships with multiple figures across Nick Sirianni’s coaching staff. Throughout his college and pro career, Mariota previously played with or worked with new quarterbacks coach Alex Tanney (teammate with Titans), run game specialist/assistant tight ends coach T.J. Paganetti (coach at Oregon), and special teams coordinator Michael Clay (teammate at Oregon). Mariota also revealed that during his predraft process, he had dinner with Sirianni, then an assistant coach for the Chargers, at a small restaurant in Eugene, Ore.

“Relationships that I’ve had, those are very important,” Mariota said. “At the end of the day, I was really looking for a team, where I would just enjoy playing the game that I love. And the relationships that I have here are very important to me.”

Mariota has played in 87 career games (74 starts) across eight seasons. He’s compiled 15,656 passing yards with 92 touchdowns, 54 interceptions, and a 62.6 completion percentage. Mariota also has been valuable in the run game with 2,012 career rushing yards (5.8 average) and 17 touchdowns. The eight-year pro takes over the primary backup role from Gardner Minshew, who joined the Indianapolis Colts in free agency.

Over the past two seasons, Hurts has missed three regular-season games due to injury. With Minshew under center, the Eagles went 1-2 during his three spot starts.

“When you look at Marcus, you’re talking about an elite athlete who has really good tools as a passer,” general manager Howie Roseman said recently at the NFL’s owners’ meetings. “Obviously we feel like — we’re hoping he doesn’t have to take the field other than mop-up duty. But I feel like he could run our offense if need be if Jalen caught a cold or something, and he had to play.

“We’re excited about him. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him as a player and as a person. We think it’s a good fit, hopefully, for both sides.”

Mariota acknowledged he recently underwent a procedure to “clean up” his knee. Now confident the injury is behind him, he’s spent the past few months rehabbing and training. Mariota and his wife, Kiyomi, also have been busy with their four-month old baby daughter, Makaia Kei.

“Especially now with my little girl, it’s very important for me to be able to represent and be a role model for her,” Mariota said. I want to make sure she understands that with everything that’s out there, you have to be able to define who you are from yourself. That’s through hard work, dedication – I was just raised that way. To be able to represent that to my little girl is most important.

“I want to play this game for as long as I can. I want to make an impact on teams and hopefully win a championship.”

Upon his arrival to the Eagles’ headquarters, Mariota’s first interaction was with left tackle Jordan Mailata, whom Mariota shares Samoan heritage with. The new teammates bonded about their culture as Mailata welcomed Mariota, a native of Oahu, Hawaii, to Philadelphia.

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“He’s impressive right off the bat,” Mariota said of their interaction. “He talked to me about how he stopped in Hawaii and was there for the PA event. We shared stories about the islands. I think it’s pretty cool to be part of a Polynesian community that’s so tight knit. As you look across the league now, you’ll see Polynesian players of different statures at different positions. To be part of that is really cool for me.

“Something I’ve always held in high regard, no matter what, I try to represent where I come from, who I am, and the Polynesian community to the best of my abilities. I think it’s really cool to see guys like [Dolphins quarterback] Tua [Tagovailoa], Jordan Mailata — uplifting that even further. If we can continue to show people how proud we are of our heritage and where we come from, we’ll continue to shine a light on how special our Polynesian community is.”