Eagles make questionable decision with Marcus Mariota signing
The Eagles may wish they went in a different direction.
The Philadelphia Eagles have become one of the best teams in the NFL for one reasons above all others; they build their team better than almost everyone else.
From contracts to draft picks, Howie Roseman and company have put on a masterclass in how to build an NFL roster, and that has shown through with a trip to the Super Bowl this past year.
Still, not every move that this front office makes is infallible.
The signing of Heisman winner Marcus Mariota to serve as Jalen Hurts' backup is one move that this franchise will likely want back down the road.
Mariota has experienced plenty of highs and lows during his NFL career, but it is fair to say at this point that he is likely never going to advance beyond being a backup again.
This isn't the issue with what the Eagles have done.
Hurts does need a backup, a veteran makes a lot of sense to potentially play in vital moments to keep the team afloat if it loses its starting quarterback, and Mariota isn't going to create a quarterback controversy based on his play.
However, Mariota is a pricey backup and his stint with Atlanta showed that he isn't exactly the best veteran mentor for a young quarterback.
The situation with the Eagles will hopefully be a bit different, but Mariota is already more expensive than comparable quarterbacks on the market (see Baker Mayfield, Gardner Minshew, and Drew Lock) and he has also gone through a messy depth chart change recently with the Falcons, something that you usually don't want in a backup.
Again, this may end up working out for the Eagles in the end, especially if Hurts goes down and Mariota is able to win some games with that talented roster, but this currently looks like an overpay for a name that could create unnecessary drama down the line.
