The Washington Commanders re-signed Marcus Mariota on the first day of free agency, and Mariota discussed the reasons for his return on Thursday.
Mariota was looking to see if anyone would make him an offer he couldn’t refuse, but found his best offer still was to work with the Commanders in Ashburn, once again under David Braff and once again as Jaden Daniels’ backup. The deal Mariota signed this week is one-year, $7 million, with a maximum value of $11 million, including incentives.
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Why did Mariota return to Commander? “The situations, the scenarios that were shown to me never really felt right to me. This felt right to me.”
Mariota weighed his options, and the Commanders won again thanks to Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels. “For me personally, this is the best place to play football. The atmosphere that DQ creates is one that I love being a part of.” He added that for Jayden Daniels, “the sky is the limit.”
Despite all the talk in the DMV that new offensive coordinator David Braff is inexperienced and potentially difficult to understand, Mariota was candid about how he feels very differently after working under Braff the past two seasons. “Well, from the first time I met Blough, you could tell how smart he was and what an incredible person he was… I thought Blough was a great fit for this position.”
If possible, Mariota would like to return to the West because he is from Hawaii and played college ball at Oregon State. But he did think Washington Commander on the East Coast was still his best place. “I’ve been to a lot of places…I love the atmosphere…without a doubt I want to come back.”
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Mariota, who turns 33 in October, knows his limits and where he’s best suited. Mariota said seeing David Braff build the offense “is a challenge I don’t want to pass up.”
This article originally appeared on Commander’s Wire: Washington Commander: Marcus Mariota is most comfortable in Washington