Los Angeles Chargers free agency 2020: Top 5 targets
By Jon Dove
3. Marcus Mariota, Quarterback
If the Los Angeles Chargers are dead set on moving away from Philip Rivers they could turn their attention to a reclamation project like Marcus Mariota. The move away from Rivers would be a tough decision, but it’s something that might benefit both parties.
Rivers is on the last legs of his career and still in search of an NFL title. There are other teams in the league who might be closer to a championship with Rivers on the roster. In this scenario, the Chargers would be doing Rivers a solid by allowing him to find a better fit.
Bringing in Mariota would provide the Chargers with a young stopgap solution while keeping open the possibility of drafting a quarterback.
Mariota finds himself without a job thanks to a successful reclamation project in Ryan Tannehill. Landing with the Chargers would be a solid situation thanks to the presence of head coach Anthony Lynn.
He would also have at his disposal weapons such as Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler and Mike Williams.
Targeting Mariota would give the Chargers a lot of options. They could play it conservative in the draft and look to add someone in the later rounds. This would put trust in Mariota, but not a ton based on contract projections.
They could also use Mariota as a stopgap only and draft a quarterback with the No. 6 pick in this year’s draft.