{"id":936186,"date":"2026-07-04T05:57:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T05:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/936186\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T05:57:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T05:57:36","slug":"marcus-mariota-finds-comfort-zone-with-washington-commanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/936186\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcus Mariota finds comfort zone with Washington Commanders"},"content":{"rendered":"

AIEA, Hawaii \u2014 Stability at work means peace of mind at home for Marcus Mariota.<\/p>\n

Whether it was his free and easy swings from the No. 3 tee box, hoisting his two keiki or bantering with volunteers and local media, the Washington Commanders quarterback was the picture of contentment at his annual Motiv8 Foundation Golf Tournament, the 10th annual, at Pearl at Kalauao this week.<\/p>\n

Every time he comes home between NFL seasons \u2014 he is poised to enter his 12th \u2014 the Saint Louis School graduate resolves to make the most of those precious weeks.<\/p>\n

It helps that he knows exactly what he\u2019s in for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n

[Note: See below for more photos of Marcus Mariota at the 10th Motiv8 Foundation Golf Tournament.]<\/p>\n

Mariota signed back on with the Commanders for $7 million (plus up to $4 million in incentives) for the upcoming 2026 season, which will be his third with the franchise. After filling in as starter for much of Washington\u2019s 5-12 season, Mariota will revert to being Jayden Daniels\u2019 primary backup.<\/p>\n

Daniels, who led the Commanders to a spot in the NFC Championship game two years ago, had to be shut down midway through the 2025 campaign with myriad injuries. Mariota appeared in 11 contests \u2014 his most since 13 with the Atlanta Falcons in 2022 \u2014 starting eight for the injured Daniels. He went 2-6 in his starts.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It) just solidified my love for playing,\u201d Mariota told Hawaii media on Monday. \u201cI really enjoyed of being out there, regardless of the result of it. It\u2019s a game that I\u2019ve loved since I was a kid. Never want to be in those (injury-caused) circumstances where you play, but the chance to play, to be out there, was a lot of fun and something that I very much cherished.\u201d<\/p>\n

He completed 61.2% of his throws (139-for-227) for 1,695 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions, plus 297 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The season included the 100th career NFL TD pass<\/a> for the former Heisman Trophy winner at Oregon.<\/p>\n

Year 3 will mark his longest stay with one franchise since spending his first five seasons with the Tennessee Titans. Mariota was direct about why that was: relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of crazy to think this will be the longest stint \u2026 outside of the Titans,\u201d Mariota said. \u201cAnd when you have such a great staff and you\u2019re lead by a great person like DQ (Dan Quinn), you realize you don\u2019t want to bounce around and you don\u2019t want to chase something else. It\u2019s been nice to have stability. I\u2019ve been very grateful for it. DQ\u2019s one of the best people I know and to be able to grow in the system and be around it, has been very rewarding for me. I really kind of enjoy and embrace that role as a mentor with Jay and the more that I can be that avenue for him, that resource, I think I can create value in that sense and it\u2019s very comforting.\u201d<\/p>\n

In typical Mariota fashion, the Motiv8 event combined family, friends and fun. After introductions by MC Kanoa Leahey and head pro Cyd Okino, Mariota greeted the participants near the Pearl clubhouse, then played the No. 3 hole as an extra scramble partner with every group to pass through.<\/p>\n

His baby son Maika gripped a club and golf ball near the tee box and daughter Makaia pointed at curious sights. His wife Kiyomi and mother Alana tended to the tournament.<\/p>\n

Mariota thanked his family, operations manager Kari Ann Liebertz and Ed Nishioka for organizing another successful event to support Motiv8\u2019s myriad causes at home and on the continent.<\/p>\n

Aloha Stadium, where Mariota helped lead Saint Louis over Waianae to the 2010 HHSAA Division I championship, was visible in the distance down the Kalauao slopes in its half-demolished state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means everything to me,\u201d Mariota said of coming back home for another event. \u201cEach year as it continues forward, being able to bring my kids home, being here for a couple weeks at a time, seeing them experience the things that I got to experience, that\u2019s so important to me. And on top of that, to be around just genuine people, it brings you back to earth and when we get to do it every year, it\u2019s such a gift. The more that we can give back, it\u2019s a token of our gratitude to be where I\u2019m from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Marcus Mariota fist-bumped participants of the Motiv8 Foundation golf tournament on the No. 3 green at Pearl at Kalauao on Monday. (Spectrum News\/Brian McInnis)<\/p>\n

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Marcus Mariota chipped onto the No. 3 green at Pearl at Kalauao. (Spectrum News\/Brian McInnis)<\/p>\n

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Marcus Mariota spoke to participants of the Motiv8 Foundation Golf Tournament while he held his daughter Makaia. His wife Kiyomi held their son Maika in background. (Spectrum News\/Brian McInnis)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A Motiv8 Foundation mini helmet at the No. 3 tee box at Pearl at Kalauao. (Spectrum News\/Brian McInnis)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Marcus Mariota with daughter Makaia, wife Kiyomi and son Maika in background. (Spectrum News\/Brian McInnis)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Motiv8 Foundation tournament reached its 10th iteration. (Spectrum News\/Brian McInnis)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Marcus Mariota posed with three women vital to the Motiv8 Foundation operations, from left, his mother Alana, wife Kiyomi and operations manager Kari Ann Liebertz. (Spectrum News\/Brian McInnis)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Marcus Mariota posed with volunteers at the Motiv8 Foundation event. (Spectrum News\/Brian McInnis)<\/p>\n

Brian McInnis<\/a> covers the state\u2019s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@<\/a>charter.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AIEA, Hawaii \u2014 Stability at work means peace of mind at home for Marcus Mariota. Whether it was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":936187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2069],"tags":[12606,1615,1613,32840,427,7,9104,6,9,1004,855,111,2480],"class_list":["post-936186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-washington-commanders","tag-app-professional-sports","tag-app-sports","tag-app-top-stories","tag-brian-mcinnis","tag-commanders","tag-football","tag-hawaii","tag-nfl","tag-sports","tag-top-stories","tag-washington","tag-washington-commanders","tag-washingtoncommanders"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116860174328437485","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=936186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/936187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=936186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=936186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=936186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}