The San Diego Chargers are considering Marcus Mariota in the NFL draft and a Philip rivers trade to the Tennessee Titans could be an option if the team moves up and this comes as the NY Jets, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears are also interested in making a deal for Mariota this offseason if the Titans don't take the quarterback at number two.
The Chargers are coming into the draft with the number 17 overall pick and that means they would have to move up quite a bit to get to Mariota. According to Pro Football Talk, the rumors about Rivers heading to the Titans for the second overall pick have not died down and while a deal is no guarantee, it surely is in play with days left until the draft. Mike Florio at PFT writes that a deal likely would not happen until draft day and may not even get close to happening until the Titans are on the clock.
There are a lot of moving parts to a deal for Mariota and it all starts with the Buccaneers and whether they takes Jameis Winston or not at number one. All reports and draft experts have the Buccaneers taking Winston, but there always is a chance they take Mariota or surprise everyone by going with Leonard Williams. The Chargers have been mentioned as a target for Mariota since February and while the Rivers talks were dismissed at first, they have hung around and could result in the QB moving.
The trade talk about Rivers at first seem crazy, but looking a bit deeper there are some definite signs that a deal could come close to happening. While Union-Tribune San Diego reports that "some contract talks" are happening with Rivers, right now he is coming into the final year of his deal and that leaves his future in San Diego a bit up in the air. Rivers made comments that he might not be too keen on moving to Los Angeles and that also could play a part in what happens.
NBC's Alex Flanagan reports that the trade talk about Rivers to the Titans is "legitimate" and that "more and more people" see it as a possibility. The Titans have a need at QB and they also have the cap space to take on Rivers' contract and not get totally pushed up against the cap. The team has to make some type of move to get better and if they don't want Mariota, they could get Rivers instead. Rivers has connection to Ken Whisenhunt as well, as the head coach was the OC for the Chargers in 2013 when the QB had one of his best seasons stats-wise in his career.
If the Chargers do want to go after Mariota, they have some major competition, as teams like the Cleveland Browns, NY Jets, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins have all shown interest in the quarterback. The Philadelphia Eagles could be the wild card in the whole thing, as also are reportedly interested in Mariota. Chip Kelly coached Mariota in college and the team has Sam Bradford and Matt Barkley as trade chips along with their draft picks in the upcoming event.
