Falcons cut Marcus Mariota

Posted by Michael David Smith on February 28, 2023, 10:02 AM EST
NFL: DEC 04 Steelers at Falcons
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Marcus Mariota‘s stint with the Falcons is finished after one year.

The Falcons announced this morning that they have released Mariota.

That’s no surprise, given that cutting Mariota saves $12 million on the Falcons’ salary cap, and given that Mariota did not play well last season.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, Mariota is only 29 years old and might still have a future in the NFL, but so far his career has been a disappointment. He’s likely to fit somewhere with a team that wants a veteran backup.

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42 responses to “Falcons cut Marcus Mariota”

  5. My Raiders never should have cut him. He’s still a good QB some team will pick him up better than Wentz or Mayfield for sure.

  9. Has he already recovered from surgery? I dont think he will retire. Backups make easy money learning systems and playing sporadically. His journey for a future chance to start, continues.
    He did beat the 49ers this year after all, while Prescott for Dallas hasnt the last two years …

  12. Mariota was the ultimate team guy before Atlanta. Never a peep of him being anything but great in the locker room; super supportive. Then he just bails on the team? There’s more to this story than was ever told and we may never know – UNLESS the truth is revealed on Netflix’s “Quarterback” this summer featuring Mahomes, Cousins and Mariota (who chose those three?).

  14. A great number 2 or 3 in SF. One of the 49ers top 2 may or may not be traded. Purdy earned the top spot, but it’s doubtful he will be a true 100% on week 1. So, Lance may be starting week 1. Why would Mariota not want to sign with SF? He could settle in as a backup for the 49ers for the rest of his career if he so desired. Shanahan would certainly keep him busy with 5 or 6 plays a game as a specialist such as Payton did with Taysom Hill. Purdy will be #1, Lance will get traded eventually, Mariota could end up with a great career in SF as a backup, but much more than that.

  15. Wouldn’t mind him as the backup to Hurts and would be funny if that happened considered Chip Kelly nearly traded a ton of picks to draft him.

  16. Another Oregon flameout, Herbert to follow shortly. That high school offense of theirs will just never translate to the NFL. See also: Oklahoma.

  18. Ha! The 49ers managed to break 4 Quarterbacks on their way to a disappointing ending, but you want to toss Marcus into the meat grinder? I’m sure he’s grateful for the suggestion.

  21. Maybe he can join up with a new team that features Cam Cheating and Carson Yutz – the Wasteland Wrong Ways.

  24. This guy proved alot of people wrong.

    Mike Holmgren does radio out here in Seattle… he raving about this guy leading up to his Draft.

  27. I watched Mariota at the Chargers vs Falcons game. Yes he is a pro QB but his accuracy is simply not good enough to run a reliable offense. A lot of positive plays were due to defensive breakdowns that Mariota’s scrambling took advantage. He is NOT going to make receivers into stars. Kyle Pitts numbers declined dramatically with Mariota under center and Pitts is a unicorn with a big future. Mariota could not get the ball to him.

  29. The eagles have to go after mariota he’d be perfect to back up hurts ,he’d thrive in birds offense

  30. See you on South Beach, Marcus. Still young, still healthy, and can still win in spots when called upon. Perfect back-up for Tua after the failed Teddy Two-Gloves fiasco.

  34. My Team makes me Drink says:
    February 28, 2023 at 10:06 am
    My Raiders never should have cut him. He’s still a good QB some team will pick him up better than Wentz or Mayfield for sure.
    ———————————————
    The Raiders never cut him. Marcus signed a two year contract and was with the team for two years. He became a free-agent. Any Raiders fan would know that.

  35. chastain00 says:
    February 28, 2023 at 12:27 pm
    Great fit to come in teach and back up Sam Howell , similar styles of play.

    _________________________________________________________________________

    99% of Washington fans never actually watched Howell play in college. They’re absolutely nothing alike!

  36. Backup to Hurts, Tua and Fields I think I saw people saying. In those teams he would be better than all three. People need to learn football and QB’s. Who is good and who is succeeding because of the system they are in.

  38. With Chad Henne’s retirement, I feel like Kansas City would be a tremendous place for him as QB2. Not that I’d ever want to be in a position where he’d have to play in a game, but it would be good for him to learn under Andy Reid & Matt Nagy.

  39. Someone did him wrong in Atlanta. You’re not the nicest guy said everyone who knew him and HE bails. Something is amiss.
    How about he just retires? What has he made, like 40 million dollars plus other revenue? After taxes etc, I would think he would have between 15 to 25M.
    Whatever happened in Atlanta might have a bearing on this. He could find himself on the staff at Hawaii. If anything he’d be an awesome recruiter. I’m sure he’ll be fine in whatever he chooses. The Atlanta thing will leak because it will be question #1 if he chooses to continue playing. So he might be as a back-up, might not be anything but thanks and goodbye.

  42. Mariota is not a great QB. He’s looked and played like a career backup from day one, sorry to say. If he lands with the Chiefs, that’s probably his last job because he’ll never be looked at as a starter again.

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