Oregon has a lot of beloved quarterbacks, from Bo Nix to Joey Harrington to Dillon Gabriel to Justin Herbert to Dan Fouts. However, none of the former Duck QBs compare to Marcus Mariota, Oregon's only Heisman Trophy winner.
Mariota is a certified college football legend, not just in Eugene but across the country, but despite his collegiate success, he has struggled to find a permanent home at the next level. Yet, after his impressive 2024 season as the Washington Commanders' backup quarterback to rookie Jayden Daniels, Mariota has signed a one-year extension with the NFL organization.
The Commanders resigned Mariota to a one-year, $8 million deal after he came up big during a stretch of the season when Daniel was a little too banged up to take the field.
Commanders re-signing QB Marcus Mariota to one-year, $8M deal. (via @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/NPAURiLBAA
— NFL (@NFL) March 12, 2025
Marcus Mariota 2024-25 season stats
- 34 completions (77.3 percent)
- 364 passing yards
- 4 passing touchdowns
- 0 interceptions
- 18 carries
- 92 rushing yards
- 1 rushing touchdown
While Mariota has earned his spot as a starting quarterback since the beginning of his professional career, he has been praised for his leadership and mentoring characteristics, especially as he helped coach up the young Daniels during his rookie season.
Marcus Mariota NFL career teams
- Tennessee Titans, 2015-19
- Las Vegas Radiers, 2020-21
- Atlanta Falcons, 2022
- Philadelphia Eagles, 2023
- Washington Commanders, 2024-present
The Titans selected Mariota second overall in the 2015 NFL Draft, and he stayed in Tennessee for five seasons before heading to the Raiders for two years.
While in college (2012-14), Mariota led the Ducks to their first-ever College Football Playoff berth. He led Oregon to a Pac-12 North title and a Fiesta Bowl victory during the 2012 season. He led the Ducks to another Pac-12 North title in 2023, followed by a win in the Alamo Bowl.
Marcus Mariota college stats
- 1,167 completions
- 10,796 passing yards
- 105 passing touchdowns
- 14 interceptions
- 337 carries
- 2,237 rushing yards
- 29 rushing touchdowns
Then, in 2014, Mariota won the Heisman Trophy, secured the overall Pac-12 title after the Arizona Wildcats 51-13 in the conference championship game, won the CFP semifinal matchup over the Florida State Seminoles (59-20), and took the Ducks to the National Championship game.
Mariota will always and forever be an Oregon legend, no matter who he plays for in the NFL or if he's a starter or not.