On the heels of trading Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts, the Atlanta Falcons came to terms with Marcus Mariota on a two-year deal.
The move reunited Mariota with Falcons head coach Arthur Smith. The two worked together in the 2019 season, where Mariota featured at quarterback in what turned out to be his final year in Tennessee and also where Smith kicked off his short run as the team’s offensive coordinator. Mariota’s 2019 campaign did not go as expected, which included being benched for Ryan Tannehill during the season.
This time around, Smith, as he noted over the annual NFL owners meeting, is aiming to simply exploit Mariota’s overall strengths as a quarterback.
“He's not the same player as Matt Ryan, so we'll try to play to Marcus' strengths,” Smith said.
“He has grown as a football player. He has been through a lot of systems, too. We went through multiple systems together in Tennessee and we expect to get the best version of Marcus Mariota.”
Unlike Ryan, Mariota can scramble out of the pocket and complete throws while on the run. But in the big picture, it will be noteworthy to see if Smith plans to give Mariota the freedom to open up the passing game with key downfield throws.
The Falcons have not yet officially named Mariota as their starting quarterback for the upcoming campaign, but unless they bring in another such talent in free agency or the 2022 NFL Draft, the veteran passer is slated to be under center for the team come Week 1.
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