Patriots Making Calls On QBs And Marcus Mariota May Be On Radar

The New England Patriots are looking for a quarterback, and while Marcus Mariota may not be Tom Brady, Mariota may be have to do. And if not Mariota, someone similar.

Mariota is coming off a season backing up Derek Carr with the Las Vegas Raiders. Before that, Mariota spent five years with the Tennessee Titans. He and others could be on the Patriots' radar, according to SI.com insider Albert Breer.

"Honestly, that's probably what we're looking at," Breer said on NBC Sports Boston. "If you don't want to pay in this neighborhood, you're not going to get a quarterback like this. It's crazy out there right now, and if you're gonna swim in these waters you have to understand the cost of admission.

"That's sort of what it is right now and so, the other question is do you want to do that sort of thing or would you rather try and find yourself a Ryan Tannehill type of reclamation project."

The Patriots are coming off a 7-9 season, the first of the post-Brady era. Cam Newton arrived as a replacement, and while he had his moments, mostly showed his best years are behind him. So the Patriots are unquestionably in search of someone to guide them through their next phase.

For now, Breer said, the franchise is making plenty of calls to find out who may be available, and Mariota is potentially one of the men on their list.