Marcus Mariota, Troy Dye and Juwan Johnson all got new contracts as the NFL free agency period began Wednesday.
Mariota, the all-time Oregon leader in wins, passing yards and touchdowns, reupped with the Washington Commanders where he'll continue to backup second-year starter Jayden Daniels. The 31-year-old NFL veteran from Hawaii appeared in three games last season, completing 34-44 passes for 364 yards and four touchdowns, rushing for 92 yards on 18 carries with another score.
In October he came off the bench when Daniels was injured and led a 40-7 win over Carolina. He came on in relief again in the season's final game against Dallas, throwing a game-winning touchdown pass with three seconds left in a 23-19 road victory.
During the season Commanders head coach Dan Quinn praised Mariota for the leadership and maturity he brought to the team, telling reporters, “In a perfect scenario, a young quarterback would have a leader to also learn from, but perfect rarely happens. But we do have that in Marcus Mariota. Him sharing nine years of gold with Jayden, I think, has been something that’s really cool for us to see. Rookie quarterbacks usually don’t get that, and we do."
The new contract brings Mariota's lifetime NFL earnings to $82 million dollars, according to OverTheCap. He got married in 2021 and he and his wife Kiyomi had a baby girl in Dec. 2022.
Also getting new contracts Wednesday were Chargers linebacker Troy Dye and Saints tight end Juwan Johnson. ESPN's Ian Rappaport reported that Dye, who led the Ducks in tackles for four straight years from 2016-2019, gets a new deal with the Los Angeles Chargers that pays him $5.5 million with a chance to earn $8.5 million with incentives. He had his best season as a pro last year with the Bolts, racking up 57 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Johnson agreed to a three-year, 30.75M deal that maxes out at $34.5M, per The Insiders. He gets 21.25m guaranteed. In 2020, he caught 30 passes for 467 yards and four touchdowns as a Duck after transferring from Penn State.
The Ducks held their Pro Day Tuesday in the Moshofsky Center, and this April they're likely to have a record number of players taken in the NFL draft with tackle Josh Conerly projected to be a first-round pick, their sixth in the last six seasons.