Matt Ryan is on the move to Indianapolis, leaving the Falcons front office with the task of replacing the face of the franchise that has been under center for the past 14 seasons.
While drafting a young quarterback with the 8th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft all of a sudden looks a lot more appealing to Falcons fans than it did prior to the Ryan trade, another option has quickly emerged. NFL Network analyst Mike Garafolo is reporting that Marcus Mariota could be a prime candidate to join the Falcons via free agency.
When the Titans selected Mariota with the 2nd overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was on Tennessee’s staff.
Mariota led Tennessee to the playoffs in 2017 but was eventually benched in the early portion of the 2019 season—Smith’s first season as offensive coordinator. Released by the Titans after the season, Mariota joined the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 and has seen the field sparingly since.
The 28-year-old quarterback owns a 29-32 overall record with a 62.8 percent career completion percentage and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 77:45.
Listen to Atlanta sports talk now on Audacy and shop the latest Falcons team gear
Brining in Mariota or any other free agent for that matter likely will not take the Falcons out of the running to draft a rookie quarterback in April. The Falcons did send a large contingent to Heisman finalist Kenny Pickett’s pro day at Pitt. Pro days for Liberty's Malik Willis, Ole Miss’ Matt Corral and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ritter will also take place this week.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram