Marcus Mariota opens up about the situation with Maui Wildfires and people affected - "Words can't explain the devastation" 

Marcus Mariota is one of the best-known personalities born in Hawaii. The second-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft was born in Honolulu and stayed on the island until moving to Oregon to play college football.

With the recent news of the Maui fire, with 96 people losing their lives as a result of the wildfires, Mariota spoke about his emotions with the incidents happening in his home island as he prepares for another NFL season:

Words can't really even explain the devastation that people are going through. And really, for all of us, Hawaii is such a small place. It's such a small community, so everyone's got family or friends that have been affected by this."

"And a great example is, just with this devastation, you have people that live on Oahu, who live on the big island, who live on Kauai, and they're taking their own personal boats, and filling their resources, and taking it to the Lahaina harbor just trying to help.

Where is Marcus Mariota playing in the 2023 season?

The Hawaii-native quarterback signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles in March, becoming the backup to Jalen Hurts.

The NFL career of Marcus Mariota has not panned out as expected. He was the second overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft but could not develop his immense potential with the Tennessee Titans; a trade for Ryan Tannehill in 2019 sealed his fate, and once Tannehill took over, he never returned to play for Tennessee.

Before signing with the Eagles, Mariota also played for the Las Vegas Raiders during the two pandemic-ravaged seasons as the backup to Derek Carr. In 2022, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons to play as a starter, but he struggled throughout the year and left the team once he lost his starting job to Desmond Ridder.

Marcus Mariota will be a key cog for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023, as Jalen Hurts' play style leaves him susceptible to injuries - he missed games in both of his seasons as the starter. His running ability should be a plus for Philadelphia's offense, just like Hurts uses his legs to produce on the ground.