NFL Notes: Marcus Mariota, Ed Reed, Russell Wilson

Marcus Mariota

Recent reports have indicated the Raiders could have a trade market for QB Marcus Mariota, who was impressive in his one relief performance this season even though he struggled with injuries during camp and the first half of the season. Albert Breer of SI spoke to one source familiar with Mariota’s situation, who said what a new team will be getting all comes down to whether or not he can remain healthy.

“He’s not fixable if you’re plugging him into a run-of-the-mill offense. He’s capable of doing something else for you, if not for the fact that he’s always hurt,” the person told Breer. “If he were playing for the Ravens, and I’m not just saying it’s only them — I think they’ve done an awesome job with Lamar Jackson — he could be a Pro-Bowler. But he’d get hurt, and that’s the Catch-22.

“Short of that, it’s just getting lucky, and his being durable all of the sudden. He can throw it, he’s accurate, he’s got good enough arm strength. The problem in a conventional offense, when the bullets are firing and things happen fast, his instinct is to be so conservative. He’s terrified to make a mistake, so he’ll come off his progressions and check the ball down, or he panics. When things get dirty, he abandons progressions, and that’s an instinctive thing. I’m not sure at this point that’s correctable.”

Ed Reed

Hall of Fame S Ed Reed said he’s had brief conversations with Ravens HC John Harbaugh about joining his staff but he’s reluctant to accept a position coach role. 

“I’ve talked to Coach Harbaugh briefly at times about things,” Reed said, via Kyle Barber of BaltimoreBeatdown.com. “I’m not a position coach, man. I can coach position, but no.”

Reed feels as if working in a position coach capacity would prevent him from making a full impact on younger players in the league and would be more comfortable as a defensive coordinator or head coach. 

“[Young players] haven’t played the game and just won’t even hear my voice putting me at a position coach,” Reed said. “My voice won’t even be heard. So that’s why I tweeted about being a [defensive coordinator] or head coach. I know what I’m capable of, I know what I aspire for. You gotta know your worth.”

Russell Wilson

2021 has been a year filled with quarterback drama, and it’s touched even situations that were previously thought to be rock solid. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is the latest character to join the fray and in an interview on the Dan Patrick Show, Wilson gave a number of intriguing answers about the state of his relationship with the Seahawks. 

“I love playing for [Seattle], I’ve loved it for years and lay it on the line every game and I’m dedicated to that. Trying to do that every day I can. The reality is that I think it’s frustrating being there and watching the [Super Bowl] and sitting there,” Wilson said via the Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar. “Part of it, like any player, you never want to get hit, that’s the reality of playing this position, ask any quarterback who wants to play this game. At the same time, it’s part of my job. 

“I’ve definitely been hit, I’ve been sacked almost 400 times. We got to get better. I got to find ways to get better, too. Just to continue to try and find that. As we continue to go along the process and I think about my career and what I want to be able to do, it always starts up front, offensively and defensively. It always does…

“If you ask me about the trust factor of it all, I’ve always put my trust in the Seahawks trying to do whatever it takes to win. Hopefully that will continue. That’s a key part. Part of that is how we go about the protection part of it and figuring those little things out like that.”

Patrick also asked Wilson whether he wanted more of a say in Seattle’s personnel decisions. 

“I think that ultimately for me personally, I want to be able to be involved because at the end of the day it’s your legacy, it’s your team’s legacy, it’s the guys you get to go into the huddle with,” Wilson said. “And at the end of the day, those guys you have to trust. One of the reasons why Tom went to Tampa is because he felt like he could trust those guys and [HC] Bruce [Arians] was going to give him an opportunity. You think about guys like LeBron, he was able to be around great players that he can trust. For me, any time you bring free agents in, you want the best players, guys who love the game, guys who want to be a part of that. And as a player, you kind of know that. You get to be around Pro Bowls, you get to see these guys, you get to be in the huddle with linemen and receivers, you get to be around defensive guys. You kind of build that over time and you get to see who can really play. As a player, you really know. I think that relationship is really key, and that dialogue, especially being a veteran player, that dialogue is really important.” 

Pressed by Patrick on whether he specifically had been involved with Seattle’s personnel decisions, Wilson admitted it was not to his liking. 

“Not as much,” Wilson responded. “…I think that dialogue should happen more often in my opinion.”

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes Wilson is not at the same point Texans QB Deshaun Watson is with his official trade request. But he will be watching the Seahawks’ moves closely this offseason. 
• Seattle shut down any trade inquiries for Wilson and the team is optimistic new OC Shane Waldron will be a great fit. 
• NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said Wilson had a heavy hand in the hire of Waldron and was involved in the process, as there were some names about midway through the process that Seattle inquired with that he wasn’t happy about. 
• Before Wilson confirmed it in his interview with Patrick, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported Wilson’s camp had grown increasingly frustrated with the team’s inability to protect him. La Canfora added it’s a situation worth monitoring given teams reached out to Seattle with trade inquiries. 
• Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes that two years ago when Wilson was up for a new deal there was a sense a move to a larger city like New York might appeal to him. Florio adds that a “vague sense has meandered through the grapevine” for several years that Wilson will eventually leave Seattle.
• Asked about if he’s frustrated with the team, Wilson responded: “I’m frustrated with getting hit too much. I’m frustrated with that part of it, you know?” (Dugar)