Who Should I Start? Marcus Mariota or Baker Mayfield

Wednesday, March 12, 2:18 PM

Veteran free-agent quarterback Marcus Mariota is signing a one-year deal to return to the Washington Commanders, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans spent last season with Washington and primarily backed up Jayden Daniels. Mariota threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns in three games a season ago. While Mariota clearly has no path to the starting job, he will be on the fantasy football radar in deep Superflex or two-QB leagues as a deep bench stash. Should Daniels have to miss any time next season, Mariota would have at least low-end QB2 upside playing with wideouts Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel Sr. along with tight end Zach Ertz in Kliff Kingsbury's offense.

Wednesday, June 11, 4:32 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield noted on Tuesday via the team's official transcript that the new offense is focusing on increasing the number of downfield shots during minicamp. "[We're] working on that, being able to connect on the chemistry we're trying to build right now," noted the Oklahoma product. "This is the time of year we're working on it. Obviously, you would love to have more down-the-field shots, but any completion is a good one." Mayfield's gripe with the offense from 2024 was that it relied heavily on YAC, and it sounds like they're trying to go away from that in 2025. It's worth noting that they weren't very efficient on deep balls last season, but they're certainly equipped to do so with their offensive skill players. More explosiveness would suit the offense well, but only time will tell if that's a suitable game plan for new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. NFL defenses have done well in recent seasons in limiting explosive plays.