Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr went down with a groin injury in the first quarter of their game against the Los Angeles Chargers. This forced the Raiders to change course by going with former no. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota.
Despite losing in overtime, 30-27, Mariota helped keep Las Vegas in the game despite being without their starting QB for the majority of the night. The 27-year old admitted it felt great to be back out there on the field after playing sparingly over the past year. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that Carr is still the Raiders' unquestioned leader.
But, as Mariota himself said, he is not trying to take Carr's job.
“This is Derek's team,” Mariota said after his first significant action since Oct. 13, 2019.
“For me, I just try to come in and help these guys get a win. Derek is a great leader and somebody this team can look to. It was cool for me to get to experience playing again after not playing for a while and to have his support, have Coach Gruden make that transition a little easier for me meant a lot. I thought it was the reason we had some success.”
Mariota certainly had a memorable Raiders debut, giving the Las Vegas offense a new look that almost led them to victory. He rushed for 88 yards on nine carries, while passing for 226 yards and completing 17 of 28 attempts.
Carr reportedly suffered a pretty significant groin injury that could keep him out for two weeks. Mariota should get an opportunity to build on his strong season debut and show that he deserves more time on the field.
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