Packers: How much would Marcus Mariota cost?

If Aaron Rodgers leaves the Green Bay Packers, one high-profile player they could target to replace him in free agency is Marcus Mariota of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Marcus Mariota could be a quality short-term replacement for the Green Bay Packers if Aaron Rodgers leaves Titletown this offseason.

With former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett taking over the reins of the Denver Broncos, it is easy to connect the dots for Rodgers to potentially follow him to the Mile High City. Of course, this would have to involve a blockbuster trade between both parties. Still, Green Bay has a former first-round pick on its roster in Jordan Love entering year three out of Utah State.

However, Love remains more project than prospect at this point of his NFL career. That is where the former Heisman Trophy winner and former No. 2 overall pick by the Tennessee Titans out of Oregon makes sense. Mariota did play for Packers head coach Matt LaFleur during their one season in Nashville in 2018. Could the Las Vegas Raiders backup be heading to the Midwest?

Here is why Mariota to Green Bay could work out, as well as what he could make on the open market in his high-profile free agency.

Green Bay Packers: How much would it cost to sign Marcus Mariota?

Though Mariota’s days of being a franchise quarterback are probably over, he is undoubtedly one of the best backups in the game. While he has a good thing going in Las Vegas, he is not usurping Derek Carr on the Raiders’ depth chart. After losing his job to Ryan Tannehil in Tennessee, Mariota signed a two-year deal worth $17.6 million with the Raiders, agreeing to a restructure last year.

Mariota played last year on a one-year deal worth $3.5 million that could be bumped up to $8 million with incentives. In short, that restructure had him within $800,000 of his average annual value of his two-year deal worth $8.8 million. Looking at the 2021 average annual values of would-be free agents in 2022, the top three all netted at least $10 million in a shrunken cap.

If that was extrapolated out to the top seven, those quarterbacks all netted at least $5 million. Mariota finished ninth among average annual value among free agent quarterbacks last year. Ultimately, Mariota could command somewhere in the $10 to $12.5 million range if he were to go to the Packers. He will have a market outside of Green Bay, especially as a stop-gap starter.

Mariota is an intriguing free agent prospect because he has the best chance to be the next Tannehill, a quarterback who failed in his first stop as a starter but found a renewed sense of confidence at a later destination.