It looks like Marcus Mariota’s short-lived stint with the Falcons is finished after just one year.
The team has elected to cut him in an attempt to free up about $12 million in salary cap space and in hopes of finding a player with more starting potential moving forward.
“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,” according to Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports.
Mariota started the first 13 games of the 2022 season before being benched. Team Rookie, Desmond Ridder, took his place and started in the final four games of the season. Mariota then had surgery to correct a knee injury and never made it back off the bench.
He hoped to reclaim his chance at a starting gig after losing his previous position on the Tennessee Titans and then again as a backup on the Raiders.
Mariota signed with Atlanta just last season – on the same day the team traded Matt Ryan to Indianapolis and failed to procure Deshaun Watson.