Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota is out. Literally.
After being benched for rookie Desmond Ridder for performance reasons, Mariota left the team. And the team doesn’t know if he’ll be back.
Head coach Arthur Smith announced that Mariota will be placed on injured reserve. The four-game minimum would sideline him for the remainder of the regular season. Speaking through TheAthletic.com’s Josh Kendall on Tuesday, Smith said Mariota is not currently with the Falcons.
Smith informed Mariota last Thursday that he will be benched for Ridder. On Friday, Smith learned that Mariota was planning to “leave” the team.
Instead of putting Mariota on injured reserve, the Falcons could fire Mariota. So, like Baker Mayfield last week, he would pass the waiver.
Mariota was the second pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. The Titans traded him to Ryan Tannehill in 2019.
After two seasons with the Raiders, Mariota signed a two-year contract with the Falcons. He received a $5 million signing bonus and a fully guaranteed salary of $1.75 million for the 2022 season.
Without Mariota, Logan Woodside will act as a backup for Ridder, who was selected in the third round in April.
