The Atlanta Falcons were expected to have something of a quarterback competition brewing during training camp, but it turns out that won't be the case after all. The Falcons announced on Wednesday that Marcus Mariota would be the team's starting quarterback in 2022, with rookie Desmond Ridder serving as his backup. Via ProFootballTalk, Falcons quarterbacks coach Charles London announced the team's decision to roll with Mariota as the starter, at least for the time being.
Falcons declare Marcus Mariota their starter. https://t.co/ZoQ0gVI7Iz
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 27, 2022
Many fans throughout the league feel that Mariota has never been given a fair shot at a starting role, so he'll finally get his chance with the Falcons. As a young quarterback in Tennessee, the Titans failed to play to Mariota's strengths. He served as a capable backup for the Las Vegas Raiders, but never got much opportunity buried beneath Derek Carr on the depth chart.
The Falcons signed Mariota to a two-year, $18.75 million deal in the offseason. The contract features a potential out after the 2022 season that would result in a $2.5 million cap hit. In 2023, Mariota's base salary will be $9 million and he'll carry a dead cap hit of $14.5 million.
The expectation was that Mariota would be that Mariota would compete for the starting role with whatever other quarterback the Falcons acquired to replace Matt Ryan. That ended up being Ridder, who was drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft with the 74th overall pick. He was the second quarterback selected in the draft, behind Kenny Pickett and ahead of Malik Willis.
Despite the promise Ridder showed in college at Cincinnati, the young quarterback will be taking over clipboard duty until the Falcons feel he's ready to usurp Mariota for the starting role. That could potentially be as early as this season, but if Mariota plays well, Ridder could wind up spending his rookie season on the bench.
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