With Super Bowl LVII officially in the books, the 2023 season is underway. Organizations such as the Atlanta Falcons could be very active in the market to continue rebuilding toward contention.
The 2022 season represented the start of a new era in Atlanta. For the first time since 2007, the team was without quarterback Matt Ryan, who led the Falcons to the Super Bowl in the 2016 season. Atlanta traded him to the Indianapolis Colts last offseason in exchange for a third-round pick.
The Falcons ended up going 7-10, finishing last in the NFC South. It was the fifth consecutive year they failed to qualify for the playoffs.
As Atlanta has about $56.4 million in cap space entering the offseason, the second-largest among all 32 teams, it could mean big incoming moves. Still, there are paths that can save the front office a lot of money it can use to address some needs.
With that being said, here is one player from the Atlanta Falcons who could be a surprise roster cut during the 2023 offseason.
Falcons Surprise Roster Cut: QB Marcus Mariota
To replace Ryan, the Falcons signed Marcus Mariota to a two-year, $18.75 million deal. The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner came to Atlanta after two seasons with the Raiders. During his time in Las Vegas, he only had 30 pass attempts and appeared in just 11 games with no starts.
Despite not starting for a long time, head coach Arthur Smith named Mariota Atlanta's QB1 for the season. The veteran won the quarterback battle over Desmond Ridder, the team's third-round pick in the 2022 draft.
In 13 games with Mariota as a starter, the team went 5-8. He completed 61.3% of his passes for 2,219 yards and 15 touchdowns against nine interceptions. He also added 438 rushing yards and four scores on 85 carries.
Ahead of Week 15, the Falcons benched Mariota in favor of Ridder. A week later, they placed him on injured reserve due to a knee injury. Atlanta went 2-2 with Ridder as its starting quarterback.
Following the 2022 season, many consider the quarterback position a big need for the Falcons. With names such as Lamar Jackson and Derek Carr available plus their open cap space, they could go after some big names.
That means Mariota would likely be permanently moved to a backup role. With a cap hit of $14.5 million, the Falcons might look into moving on from his contract. For comparison, Jimmy Garoppolo's re-structured deal with the San Francisco 49ers paid him $6.5 million plus bonuses as a backup.
If nothing changes, Mariota could be the highest-paid backup quarterback in the NFL. In 2022, Garoppolo, the Pittsburgh Steelers' Mitch Trubisky and Carolina Panthers' Andy Darnold made about half of what Mariota would make next season.
Don't be surprised if Atlanta opts to waive Mariota and bring in a cheaper backup. Should the team cut the former Oregon Duck, it would save around $12 million. This would allow the Falcons to bring in another player to fill his shoes and still use some of that money to re-sign players or sign free agents.
Although Atlanta does not have a definite answer for the quarterback position, Mariota's job is far from safe. It will likely depend on what the front office does in free agency, but there is a big chance the veteran is cut ahead of the 2023 season.
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