The past couple of days, Raiders quarterback Marcus Mariota wasn’t on the field with the team, leading one to wonder what was up with him. Or, in some cases, to wonder whether maybe he might have been traded.
After all, he’s a former starter who said last week that he wants to be a starter again. And he’s probably better than a few of the starters in the league right now.
The question as to whether he was still on the team was put to rest when Mariota was spotted in the weight room late in practice Thursday. Head coach Jon Gruden shed some light on Mariota’s situation and status for Saturday’s preseason opener vs the Seahawks.
“He’s got a sore leg, so he couldn’t practice, so I would think his status for the game is very much questionable,” Gruden said of Mariota.
I asked Gruden if the injury was something he had been dealing with long, or if it was a more recent thing.
“No, he’s had some really good practices,” Gruden said, reiterating his feeling on Mariota’s camp this year. “He had I think his two best practices. He practiced great in the stadium and got hurt on the last run where he scored a touchdown on a zone read. I don’t think it’s serious, we think he’s going to be fine in a few days. But a couple of the turnovers the other day had a lot to do with his injury.”
That practice at the stadium was last Sunday. The next practice was on Tuesday in which Mariota was picked off twice — once by Rasul Douglas on the left sideline and once over the middle by Dallin Leavitt.
Now, those weren’t the only interceptions Mariota has had this camp. The first two were by linebackers and it was clearly just a situation where he made an ill-advised throw over the middle. The throws the other day were just bad throws, and the leg injury could explain why.