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Marcus Mariota top 3 landing spots after release from Falcons

By Sayre Bedinger

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 04: Marcus Mariota #1 of the Atlanta Falcons looks to pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 04, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 04: Marcus Mariota #1 of the Atlanta Falcons looks to pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 04, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The Atlanta Falcons already had some of the most salary cap space of any team in the NFL, but added even more with the release of 2022 starting quarterback Marcus Mariota. Mariota started 13 games for the Falcons last year and threw 15 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions and also added 438 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Mariota’s play in 2022 could be considered somewhat of a resurgence, right? The former first-round pick out of Oregon fell out of favor with the Tennessee Titans where he was benched for Ryan Tannehill in 2019. To see him reunite with Arthur Smith in Atlanta — who was on staff with the Titans at the time of Mariota’s benching — was at least a little bit surprising.

Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that both Mariota and the Falcons did better than expected in 2022 which is a testament to the work being done by head coach Arthur Smith there. The Falcons’ offense in 2022 was, at times, one of the best in the NFL. They ended up being 15th in scoring but for a good stretch, they were a top-10 offense and they ended the year one of the best teams in terms of running the ball and limiting turnovers.

And Mariota was part of that, but now he’s looking for a new team as the Falcons move forward with Desmond Ridder and somewhat wide open spaces this offseason.

Marcus Mariota top landing spots in 2023 NFL free agency

Where will Marcus Mariota end up getting signed in 2023 free agency? Interestingly enough, this is a really good free agent quarterback class with all things considered. There should be prime backup options available as well as some starting options, perhaps keeping Mariota in the NFC South…

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are taking on plenty of change on the offensive side of the ball this coming season. We could see this team really morph into a run-oriented team under new offensive coordinator Dave Canales, who is coming over from the Seahawks organization. There’s no better way to make sure you emphasize the running game than by bringing in Mariota, whose skill set requires a strong running game to excel.

Mariota could easily beat out Kyle Trask in Tampa Bay and start there for a year.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks could soon have a vacancy at their backup QB spot and quite frankly, there’s no guarantee that Geno Smith is going to be able to repeat his tremendous performance from the 2022 season. Not that the Seahawks should assume he’s going to regress, but a contingency plan needs to be in place.

The Seahawks hired Greg Olson this offseason as their new QBs coach and Olson was the offensive coordinator for the Raiders from 2019-2021 where Mariota was in his QB room for two seasons.

Philadelphia Eagles

There may not be a better backup option to run what the Eagles like to run with Jalen Hurts than Marcus Mariota. Although it’s not a one-for-one comparison, Mariota would almost undoubtedly excel if the Eagles needed him in a pinch, but that’s where this potential marriage kind of doesn’t make the most sense.

Is Mariota going to take a guaranteed backup role? There are enough vacancies out there for starting jobs that he’ll probably opt for one of those instead, but you can’t ignore how good of a fit the Eagles would be at this point.

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