Marcus Mariota's contract with Raiders hints team thinks he could beat out Derek Carr

During the 2015 NFL Draft, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock made no secret that he thought Oregon's Marcus Mariota was easily the most talented signal-caller in that draft. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers disagreed, taking Florida State's Jameis Winston at No. 1 overall with the Tennessee Titans grabbing Mariota at No. 2. Neither guy will be with their drafting team in the 2020 season.

Or course, Mayock is now the general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders and he got his guy in Mariota last week in free agency. What's interesting, though, is the contract details that finally have been released; if you read between the lines, it sure seems as if Mariota will be given every shot to beat out incumbent starter Derek Carr.

Mariota signed a two-year, $17.6 million that could be worth $47 million or so in incentives. He would earn up to $2.4 million if he plays 60 percent of the Raiders' snaps in 2020, and another $1.5 million in per-game playing time and win incentives. Mariota has another $10 million in incentives in 2021, as well as a $12 million 2021 salary escalator and $2 million in playoff/Super Bowl incentives each of the next two seasons.

That contract is a huge win for Mariota and his agent, but the Raiders wouldn't put this language in there if they didn't think he might end up starting. There have been reports that Coach Jon Gruden, who also loved Mariota out of college, isn't all that thrilled with Carr even though Carr set numerous career marks last year. The Raiders also sniffed around Tom Brady. After the 2020 season, the Raiders can walk away from Carr with very little penalty.

Mariota had a 29-32 record as a starting quarterback with the Titans before being benched last season for Ryan Tannehill, who led Tennessee to the AFC title game and got a big extension. The Raiders and Titans do not play this season. Las Vegas will host Brady's Buccaneers, though.

The Raiders have a win total of 7.5 at William Hill sportsbook for this season.