Marcus Mariota is about to make history. This season, the Washington Commanders' veteran will become the first quarterback to wear the No. 0.
Last season, 22 players started the year wearing No. 0, but no quarterbacks. The NFL brought back the number last season after a 50-year hiatus. Entering 2023, only 41 players had ever worn either 0 or 00. The most famous 0, Hall of Fame center Jim Otto, wore 00 during his illustrious career with the Raiders.
Given how unique his career has been, it's fitting that Mariota will become the first quarterback to wear 0. A former Heisman Trophy winner, Mariota enjoyed early success in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans that included his first career playoff win at the end of the 2017 season. But things started going south a year later, and by 2020, he was backing up Derek Carr in Las Vegas.
Mariota was given another chance to start with the Atlanta Falcons in 2022. He enjoyed moderate success but was released after going 5-8 as the team's starter that season. Mariota went back to being a backup last season as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.
While his career probably hasn't gone according to plan, Mariota has managed to play nine seasons, which is nearly three times as long as the average career life span of an NFL player. In Washington, he will possibly get a chance to compete for a starting spot with whomever the Commanders select with the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft.
No matter what happens on the field, though, Mariota will make history simply by wearing his new number.
