Patriots Rumored Trade Target Could Be a Free Agent Soon

The New England Patriots have one particular trade target on the list. Head coach Bill Belichick needs to address several positions, and he needs to find his next franchise quarterback. Is Marcus Mariota on his list?

Ian Rapoport from NFL.com reported that the Las Vegas Raiders may release Mariota rather than trade him. NFL teams see his current deal’s max-value a bit off-putting.

Mariota’s contract has a salary cap hit of $11.4 million for the season. He may earn $20 million in incentives. Even this base salary seems like a lot for the Raiders. Let’s not forget that he is a backup behind Derek Carr. These incentives make it almost impossible he’ll return to the team in 2021.

Is Marcus Mariota the best Patriots trade target?

Mariota earns $625,000 for every game he suits in, where he hits at 60 percent of the snaps. This adds an additional $1,875 million for the games his team wins.

The quarterback may get another $2 million if he leads his teams to the playoffs. The $20 million isn’t that bad for a guy who takes his team to the playoffs.

Here’s what Rapoport said of Mariota:

“This is an interesting one, because a couple days ago, it really seemed like Marcus Mariota was going to be on the move. I know teams were interested and were calling the Las Vegas Raiders about potentially acquiring Marcus Mariota, and things did get down the line a little bit. There is significant interest in teams trying to get Marcus Mariota to come in and play quarterback for them.”

“But there is an issue. Take a look at his contract. He’s due a little more than $10 million this year. If he’s going to be a bridge starter, which would be the role he’d come in and play, that’s not bad. That’s actually not the issue. The issue is, based on incentives, if he is the starter and ends up playing the entire season, he could make an additional $12 million. So more than $20 million for Marcus Mariota. Teams, as of right now, don’t seem to think that’s something that would be worth it, especially when you consider they’d also give up a draft pick to trade for him. That trade market has now dried up significantly, leading to the question: Could Mariota be released and then end up picking his own team?”