Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

The Falcons’ swiftly changing Marcus Mariota situation will now include a knee surgery. The recently displaced starter will be shut down due to a knee operation, Arthur Smith said Wednesday (via The Athletic’s Josh Kendall, on Twitter).

This surgery will take place next week, and Smith confirmed Atlanta’s would-be backup is going on IR today. This is a bit more standard NFL fare compared to the previous Mariota story that surfaced. Smith said Tuesday that the former Heisman winner had left the team to have his knee evaluated.

“[The knee] is nothing that has been an issue this season, but that’s [Mariota’s] prerogative so …” the second-year Falcons HC said. “Of course, you want all your guys to be here, but guys have to make decisions. It’s part of professional sports. You have to have contingency plans.”

A day after Smith said Mariota was dealing with a chronic knee injury, the report of the Oregon product leaving the team emerged. Smith made it clear Wednesday that Desmond Ridder leapfrogged Mariota regardless of injury. The third-round rookie is set to make his first start against the Saints in Week 15. It does not appear the Falcons and Mariota are on the same page any longer, but this was always viewed as a short-term stay for the former No. 2 overall pick.

Ridder’s promotion already reduced the chances Mariota would be back with the Falcons next season. This week’s odd drama, which Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes has confused executives around the league, certainly points to the eighth-year passer being elsewhere in 2023. Mariota’s malady comes out of nowhere, with Florio adding the Falcons have not included it on an injury report at all this season. With four games remaining, Mariota cannot return to Atlanta’s active roster during the regular season. The Falcons would need to make the playoffs for Mariota to dress again.

Given the events of this week, it seems extremely unlikely Mariota suits up for the Falcons going forward. Stranger things have obviously occurred, with the Rams’ Cam Akers developments providing a recent example of an imminent divorce reversing course, but Mariota was always viewed as a bridge to Ridder or the next Falcons starter.

Smith has now benched Mariota twice. The first instance occurred in 2019, when Smith was in his first season as the Titans’ OC. That October, Smith ended Mariota’s four-plus-season run as Tennessee’s starter by sitting him for Ryan Tannehill. The Titans are now in Year 4 of Tannehill as their starter, while Mariota has since bounced to Las Vegas and Atlanta. Smith reunited with Mariota and kept him installed as the Falcons’ starter longer than most expected, but that chapter has ended.

The Falcons can save $12MM in 2023 by releasing Mariota, who agreed to a two-year deal worth $18.75MM shortly after the franchise shipped Matt Ryan to the Colts. To save the $12MM, the Falcons must move on from Mariota before Day 3 of the 2023 league year.

Coming off of the team’s bye week, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith confirmed reports that a new quarterback will be at the helm for the final four games of the season. In addition, though, Atlanta’s initial No. 1 is unlikely to see the field again during at least the regular season.

Marcus Mariota is dealing with what Smith called a “chronic knee injury.” As a result, he indicated, via the team’s website, that the veteran is likely to be placed on IR. Such a move would guarantee at least a four-week absence, and leave Mariota unavailable for the team’s final contests.

When speaking to the media, Smith made clear that recent decision to turn to rookie Desmond Ridder as the starting quarterback was made before the extent of Mariota’s injury was known. It was strictly for “performance-based” reasons, he said, that the Bearcats alum will take over and attempt to make a playoff push. The 5-8 Falcons sit one game behind the Buccaneers for top spot in the NFC South, and have a divisional contest against the Saints next up on their schedule.

“Desmond Ridder will be the starter,” Smith added. “We talked last time about getting over the hump in some of these close games and where we try to push the offense. We feel like it’s the best decision with where he’s at [and] the team’s at as we prepare to go down to New Orleans.”

Mariota signed a two-year deal in free agency to operate as a bridge starter while Atlanta searched for a permanent Matt Ryan successor. He had received a vote of confidence to continue as the No. 1 less than one month ago, but the team has struggled mightily in the passing game throughout the season. That has increasingly led to calls for a change, and now Ridder will make his first NFL appearances with the opportunity to make a positive impression in both the short- and intermediate-term future.

With Mariota presumed to be sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Falcons’ signing of Logan Woodside off the Titans’ practice squad over the weekend comes as little surprise. The former seventh-rounder has a connection to Smith from their time together in Tennessee, and will likely dress as Ridder’s backup as the team begins what could be a new era under center.