Marcus Mariota

The Las Vegas Raiders did not shake up the quarterback market by signing Tom Brady. However, there was reportedly some interest in bringing the 42-year-old to the AFC West.

According to The Athletic's Vic Tafur, the team was checking in on Brady "as late as this week."

Brady landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday, but a move to Las Vegas would have thrown the quarterback carousel into overdrive. In that situation, the Raiders could have moved on from Derek Carr as their starting quarterback and likely sent him elsewhere, leading to a domino effect across the NFL.

Instead, the Raiders are entering the 2020 campaign with Carr and Marcus Mariota as the top two quarterbacks on their depth chart.

There is still a chance Carr starts all 16 games in the upcoming campaign, but it's far from a certainty with Mariota coming to town. The 26-year-old lost his starting job with the Tennessee Titans to Ryan Tannehill in 2019, and the AFC South side ended up agreeing to a long-term deal with Tannehill before the start of free agency.

Mariota put together a pair of 3,000-yard passing seasons during his five-year tenure with the Titans, but he struggled to find his footing in 2018 and 2019. In the former campaign, he had just 11 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions in 14 appearances. And the bulk of Mariota's seven touchdown passes the following year occurred in a pair of three-score games in Weeks 1 and 4.

A lackluster 183-yard outing versus the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 and a two-interception display in a Week 6 defeat to the Denver Broncos sealed Mariota's fate in Tennessee.  In three of his final four games as a starter, the Titans managed seven points or fewer. After Tannehill took the job, they reached the 20-point mark in every contest.

Even though he has plenty of work to do to regain a starting spot, Mariota is in a decent situation. Despite Carr throwing for 4,000 yards in each of the past two seasons, the Raiders have not finished at or above .500.

Carr completed 2019 with 21 touchdown passes and eight interceptions, which was an improvement from 19 aerial scores and 10 picks in 2018. But such numbers are not good enough to match those of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, which is why the Raiders sniffed around Brady.

The 28-year-old was 19th in the NFL in passing touchdowns, and only Josh Allen threw fewer scores while starting every regular-season game. In fact, Tannehill, who appeared in 10 regular-season contests, had one more touchdown pass than Carr. Gardner Minshew, who played in two fewer games, was level with Carr in that category.

Las Vegas has invested in wide receiver Tyrell Williams and tight end Darren Waller, who are set to make more than $18 million combined in 2020. The Raiders also traded for Zay Jones last season and had Hunter Renfrow emerge as a reliable option in his rookie season.

If they land a wide receiver or two with the Nos. 12 and 19 overall picks in the 2020 NFL draft, the Raiders could have a formidable pass-catching unit. Carr should be expected to improve his scoring numbers in that scenario. If not, he could be in the same position Mariota was in last season.

Signing Brady would have erased all question marks about the starting gig, which is understandable when a six-time Super Bowl-winning QB is in the fold.

Brady has produced at least 20 passing touchdowns in 17 of his 20 seasons in the league, and he only played one game each in two of the seasons he fell short of the mark. He has also eclipsed 4,000 passing yards in 11 campaigns. He would have provided some more stability and a larger scoring threat, but the Raiders are now set to rely on Carr and Mariota to improve on a 7-9 campaign.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference. Contract information obtained from Spotrac.

After spending five seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, most signs are pointing to Jameis Winston having a new NFL home in 2020.

Tampa did not place a franchise tag on the 26-year-old before the negotiation window of free agency opened Monday afternoon. Plus, the latest reports continue to indicate the Buccaneers are interested in pursuing other quarterbacks on the market.

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times noted the Bucs appear ready to head in a different direction.

"It's no secret that [head coach Bruce] Arians would prefer to move on from Jameis Winston," he reported on March 11. "And make no mistake, general manager Jason Licht is deferring to [Arians] on the quarterback position."

And early rumors have the organization fixated on Tom Brady.

While the wording of the report is admittedly unique, Tampa has clearly made the 42-year-old a top priority.

Since he's spent the last 20 years with the Patriots, the feeling that Brady will return is understandable, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reiterated the likelihood of the veteran leaving:

"Tom Brady does not have anything close to a deal in New England. Now I know people think, 'He's going back to New England.' What makes them think that? Why would they think that now when this has been going on since he put the motion into place, where basically he voided the contract. There haven't been any substantial contract negotiations. There hasn't been anything that resembles a deal."

NBC Sports' Chris Simms noted Brady's final decision will be between the Bucs and Patriots, though ESPN's Dianna Russini said the general feeling is nobody knows what he will do.

Either way, Tampa has backup plans if it ends up missing out. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano said the Bucs are expected to evaluate Philip Rivers. They're also interested in Teddy Bridgewater, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.

That's the long version of saying a possible reunion for Winston and Tampa is, at this moment, unlikely.

In the meantime, the NFL world is left speculating about his future.

Stroud noted there's a "lot of belief" Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden has interest in Winston. ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio said "there was a sense" teams wouldn't pursue the quarterback until the Bucs officially didn't use the franchise tag on him.

But news then broke of his draft classmate, Marcus Mariota, signing with Las Vegas, so it's fair to cross the Raiders off the list for Winston.

Since news changes quickly in free agency, perhaps Tuesday brings a massive amount of clarity for Winston's future. For now, though, the NFL world may be waiting for the all-important Brady domino to fall before he becomes a priority.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.

Marcus Mariota will look to refresh his NFL career with a change of scenery. The veteran quarterback agreed to a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

As he played out the final year of his rookie contract, the 2019 season couldn't have gone much worse for Mariota. He opened as the Tennessee Titans' starting quarterback but lost the job to Ryan Tannehill by Week 7.

Making matters worse, the Titans looked like a different team with Tannehill under center. They closed with a 7-3 record and earned a wild-card berth en route to the AFC Championship Game.

Mariota was a non-factor in the postseason. His most notable contribution came as a decoy on Derrick Henry's touchdown pass to Corey Davis against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.

Although crediting the quarterback change as the sole reason for Tennessee's turnaround would be reductive, the contrast between Mariota's and Tannehill's final numbers was impossible to ignore.

• Mariota: 1,203 yards, seven touchdowns, two interceptions, 7.5 yards per attempt, 59.4 percent completion rate
• Tannehill: 2,742 yards, 22 touchdowns, six interceptions, 9.6 yards per attempt, 70.3 percent completion rate

In general, Mariota's NFL career has been disappointing since the Titans selected him second overall after Jameis Winston in the 2015 draft. He has thrown for 13,207 yards, 76 touchdowns and 44 interceptions while completing 62.9 percent of his passes.

Mariota only missed two games in 2018 but battled a nerve issue in his right arm throughout the year, which left him at less than 100 percent. As a result, his passing yards per game fell from 215.5 in 2017 to 180.6.

ESPN's Turron Davenport also hit on what has been a persistent issue. Mariota has been sacked 155 times in 63 games, a number that can't be blamed only on the Titans offensive line:

"It's not all Mariota's fault, but the Titans have allowed an NFL-high 25 sacks — including 12 over the last two weeks. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Tennessee's offensive linemen have actually been pass-blocking well at times, sustaining their blocks for at least 2.5 seconds 62% of the time this season — good for fifth best in the NFL per ESPN's Pass Block Win Rate.

"Part of the problem is Mariota is averaging 2.84 seconds before throwing passes, the ninth-longest average time in the NFL. And when the Titans' offensive line doesn't give up a pass block win (rusher beating a block within 2.5 seconds), Mariota's Total QBR of 42.8 ranks 29th out of 30 qualified quarterbacks. Only Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen had a worse rating."

Making a firm judgment about Mariota's performance is still somewhat difficult, though.

Lamar Jackson is a perfect example of how the right coaching staff can elevate a quarterback who has skills beyond that of a traditional pocket passer. The Baltimore Ravens found ways to tailor the offense to Jackson, and he was the NFL's Most Valuable Player.

Mariota didn't have that luxury in Tennessee. Neither Ken Whisenhunt nor Mike Mularkey thought outside the box much when they were leading the Titans through his first three seasons.

Henry was becoming the focal point of the offense as a result, and the acquisition of Tannehill indicated Mike Vrabel was losing faith in the incumbent starting quarterback.

The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner turns 27 in October. Kirk Cousins was 27 when he took over as the Washington Redskins' Week 1 starter in 2015. Jimmy Garoppolo was 26 when he made his first start for the San Francisco 49ers.

There's still time for Mariota to rewrite his career narrative, starting with the Raiders.

After making three straight Pro Bowls between 2015 and 2017, Derek Carr has largely stagnated. He's too good to be considered among the league's worst quarterbacks but not good enough to truly crack the elite tier.

Carr's long-term future with the team has been a storyline throughout Jon Gruden's first two seasons as head coach. The Athletic's Jay Glazer argued the Raiders should pursue Tom Brady to generate some excitement as they prepare for their first year in Las Vegas.

Mariota is obviously a step down from Brady, but landing the future Hall of Famer was always a long shot.

This move likely buys Carr one more season to make significant strides; otherwise, he could be moving on. The Raiders would save almost $19.7 million and absorb $2.5 million in dead money by cutting him next offseason, per Over the Cap.

The Las Vegas Raiders reportedly have their eyes on another quarterback.

According to Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the AFC West team is "pushing to close out a deal" with Marcus Mariota. Mariota has spent his entire career with the Tennessee Titans since they selected him with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2015 NFL draft.

This is notable because Derek Carr has been entrenched as the Raiders starting quarterback since they drafted him in 2014. Carr is under contract with the team through the 2022 season, per Spotrac.

While the signing of Mariota could lead to speculation about Carr's future with Las Vegas, JJ Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago noted "I cannot see any way this will lead to Derek Carr being traded, so let's put that rumor to bed."

That could leave Mariota in a quarterback competition or simply as the backup, which is a role he played for the Titans down the stretch of last season after Ryan Tannehill took over the starting position.

Mariota has not lived up to the sky-high expectations that were in place when Tennessee picked him so high in the NFL draft after he won the Heisman Trophy with the Oregon Ducks, but he did throw for more than 3,000 yards two years in a row in 2016 and 2017 and is a dual-threat playmaker who can hurt opposing defenses with his legs.

He led the Titans to the playoffs during the 2017 season and threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Wild Card Game.

Even if Carr remains the starting quarterback, Mariota is a playoff-tested veteran who would provide more security at the position for the Raiders.

The 2020 edition of NFL free agency is approaching quickly. The deadline for applying franchise and transition tags is Thursday, and teams can begin contacting pending free agents as early as Monday.

The official start to free agency isn't until March 18, but many of the top free agents will be spoken for by then.

The free-agency dominoes will start falling quickly, and as one might expect, rumors about how they might fall are already rampant.

Here, we'll dig into some of the latest buzz.

Prescott May Have Only Received One Offer

Given his age (26) and status as a Pro Bowl quarterback, Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Dak Prescott might just be the most valuable target scheduled for free agency.

However, it feels like Dallas will use the franchise tag if they cannot get a long-term deal done before the deadline.

This may be the route the Cowboys go.

According to ESPN's Todd Archer, the Cowboys recently made a second offer to Prescott after an initial offer made during the scouting combine. According to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News, that initial offer was worth $33 million annually with a guaranteed value of $105 million.

It appears, though, that the initial offer and the latest offer may be one and the same. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there has been only one offer.

"The offer, per one source, was made on March 2," he wrote. "The Cowboys have not recently made any other offer. It’s unclear whether Prescott’s camp has responded to the offer."

If Dallas has made only one offer to Prescott, then it may be a take-it-or-leave-it one. The Cowboys can have the quarterback for one year at the $33 million price tag and try again next offseason—provided he doesn't hold out.

Prediction: Prescott plays on the franchise tag in 2020.

Several Teams Interested in Tom Brady, Clarity Could Come Soon

While Tom Brady doesn't offer the youth and upside of Prescott, he does have a championship pedigree unlike any other.

The six-time Super Bowl-winner is scheduled to reach the open market, and according to Ryan Hannable of WEEI, teams interested in the 42-year-old—if the Patriots don't first re-sign him—include the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

According to NBC Sports' Peter King, this week could bring some clarity to Brady's future.

"I asked one person very close to the story this weekend, and he said 'We're going to start to get some inkling this coming week,'" King said on NFL Network's Good Morning Football (h/t Hannable).

The closer we get to the start of the "legal tampering" period, the more likely it seems Brady will leave New England. ESPN's Adam Schefter said in January on Get Up! that he didn't think the Patriots would wait until March 16 for an answer.

If New England is going to make Brady more than a courtesy offer, it's likely to come by the end of the week. If he doesn't take it, his time in New England could well be over.

Prediction: If Brady doesn't re-sign before Monday, he won't re-sign with the Patriots.

Raiders May be Interested in a Backup, Not Brady

While there has been speculation surrounding the Raiders and Brady,  Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston believes the pairing would be unlikely.

"Jon Gruden, I was told, isn't going to cold-shoulder Brady if the quarterback's people reach out but the team isn't planning to give great chase," he wrote.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo also doused a little water on the rumors. According to Garafolo (h/t Gregg Rosenthal), Las Vegas is more likely to go after a veteran backup in free agency than Brady:

This likely either means A.) the Raiders are fine with another season of Derek Carr as the starting quarterback or B.) the Raiders have a new franchise signal-caller they wish to target in April's draft.

Of course, there's nothing to stop the Raiders from giving a veteran such as Marcus Mariota a shot at unseating Carr as the starter.

If Las Vegas is ready to move on from Carr right now, the former Fresno State star will likely be released or traded. Parting with him would save the Raiders more than $13 million in 2020.

Prediction: Carr is Las Vegas' Week 1 starter in 2020.

As the Las Vegas Raiders explore their options at quarterback, one name on the radar as a potential backup is Marcus Mariota.

Per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Mariota is "in the mix" for the Raiders heading into the start of free agency.

The Raiders seem poised to start next season with Derek Carr as their starter, though a lot of things could change once free agency begins.

Per The Athletic's Vic Tafur, while the Raiders aren't shopping Carr in trade talks, they are "definitely in play" to sign Tom Brady.

Raiders general manager Mike Mayock liked Mariota coming out of college. Working as a draft analyst for NFL Media, Mayock ranked the former Oregon star as the No. 1 quarterback and No. 5 overall player in the 2015 class.

Mariota could be an option regardless of what Las Vegas does with its starter. He has been an effective NFL player with 13,207 yards, 76 touchdowns and a 62.9 completion percentage in 63 games.

The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner will likely go into 2020 as a backup after losing his starting job to Ryan Tannehill following a 2-4 start with the Tennessee Titans last season.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said Friday a recent FaceTime call with Tom Brady and Julian Edelman was merely a conversation between friends.

Vrabel appeared on Good Morning Football to discuss the viral video that surfaced while Brady and Edelman attended Saturday's college basketball game between Syracuse and North Carolina with talk show host Jimmy Fallon.

"My relationship goes back to 2001 with Tom Brady," the former New England Patriots linebacker said. "Those friendships aren't going to stop. He's a QB with an expiring contract."

The video sparked speculation about Brady, an unrestricted free agent on March 18, potentially reuniting with Vrabel in Tennessee. Ryan Tannehill and Marcus Mariota, the Titans' top two quarterbacks from last season, are also set to hit the open market.

Tennessee and New England held joint practices during training camp in August while the Titans coach was celebrating his 44th birthday. The longtime Pats QB gave him a Little League-style trophy with the score from the teams' 2018 matchup (34-10 Titans).

"Just a friend trying to give an old friend a present," Vrabel told reporters. "Just a little trophy for coaching."

Brady added: "He's been a good friend for a long time. Obviously done a great job leading this team. Proud of him for everything he's accomplished, and I'll support him even though he's coaching for another team."

The Titans continued their winning ways against the Patriots by ending their latest title defense with a 20-13 victory in the Wild Card Round of this past season's playoffs.

Although New England is the betting favorite (-125 odds) to retain Brady in free agency, the Titans are listed as the top choice (+380) should he leave the Pats, per B/R Betting.

The 42-year-old six-time Super Bowl champion saw his numbers dip in 2019 while surrounded by a lackluster supporting cast with the Patriots, so one of his key deciding points as a free agent will likely be what each interested team can offer offensively.

Tennessee relied on a run-heavy attack led by Derrick Henry, another potential free agent, and a strong defense to reach the AFC Championship Game.

Retaining Henry and adding another wide receiver would bolster the team's case for the future Hall of Famer. The Titans' top three wideouts under contract for next season are A.J. Brown, Corey Davis and Adam Humphries, a solid group, with Brown still trying to prove himself as a true No. 1 target.

The friendship between Brady and Vrabel should give Tennessee the inside track if the team checks all the other boxes on the quarterback's wish list.