The Marcus Mariota experiment is officially over in Atlanta after the team released the quarterback on Tuesday morning. Mariota started 13 games this season before being benched for rookie Desmond Ridder during the bye week.
Mariota’s release frees up $12 million in cap space for the team just in time for free agency. While fans weren’t exactly surprised by the move, many were thrilled about the prospect of adding more cap space for the offseason.
Let’s see how Falcons Twitter reacted to the news.
Terry Fontenot at the podium. Just addressed Marcus Mariota release.
“We appreciate Marcus. ….ultimately, we’re going to add to the (quarterback) position.” pic.twitter.com/wPTSBP1mbo
— Scott Bair (@ScottBairNFL) February 28, 2023
Where was the leadership when he quit on the team and went home the moment he was benched. Matt Ryan a way better quarterback got benched twice on the colts and still put the headset on took his clipboard and helped the team anyway he could. Mariota ain’t no leader in my eyes
— JazzyJeffRealTalk (@JazzyJeffRealT1) February 28, 2023
Terry Fontenot counting the total cap after cutting Mariota #Falcons
This is gonna be a fun FA period😈😈 pic.twitter.com/vfBkK8D9IT
— Steven Padillas (@Falcons_Pad) February 28, 2023
he is inevitable. https://t.co/jeAupzxOfK pic.twitter.com/WnYtuIBBGD
— 𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚 🔴⚫️ (@EmpireFalcons) February 28, 2023
I’m not surprised the Falcons released Marcus Mariota because they had a large financial incentive to do so. His time in Atlanta ultimately didn’t amount to much, but it did make one thing clear 👇 https://t.co/xqHYXlWTAK
— William McFadden (@willmcfadden) February 28, 2023
NFL Teams with the most 2023 cap space (via ESPN)
1) #Bears – $97.6M
2) #Falcons – $55.8M*
3) #Raiders – $43.9M
4) #Giants – $43.5M
5) #Bengals – $38.6M
6) #Patriots – $36.9M* That was the Falcons cap space prior to Marcus Mariota's release. They should have closer to $65M now pic.twitter.com/xmN5vCOZ4U
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 28, 2023
YA HEARD. Some people aren’t gonna like this https://t.co/5FbkEoVozZ pic.twitter.com/KQ80xdQ4fq
— Back 2 Back (@harriclark5) February 28, 2023
LETS GOOOO https://t.co/aAwtEIGviU pic.twitter.com/r9cVM8OuGw
— Football Films (@FootballFilmsYT) February 28, 2023
Marcus Mariota was drafted with pick 2 of round 1 in the 2015 draft class. He scored a 9.94 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 4 out of 513 QB from 1987 to 2015. https://t.co/aNMnHTscWM #RAS pic.twitter.com/nFyO4fJFQi
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) February 28, 2023
The Falcons would be getting a 3rd round 2023 compensatory pick had they not signed Marcus Mariota, a player that they ended up benching before the season was over. https://t.co/S4VZPolx7o
— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) February 28, 2023
Falcons released QB Marcus Mariota this morning. GM Terry Fontenot makes clear they are encouraged by Desmond Ridder’s progress but will add at QB position via draft, free agency or both. Atlanta has the No.8 pick.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) February 28, 2023
From NFL Now: The #Falcons released Marcus Mariota, but Atlanta remains open about their QB for 2023. pic.twitter.com/PuFEoLNNwH
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 28, 2023
This season, Marcus Mariota recorded a career high 438 rushing yards.#NFL | #Falcons pic.twitter.com/V5Qeizv6dV
— Pro Football Reference (@pfref) February 28, 2023
it's time https://t.co/iML8ya02sc pic.twitter.com/umThDNu4Ji
— hae 🏺 (@ha3mhu) February 28, 2023
Should've never brought him here in the first place https://t.co/no5l7Wtl9R pic.twitter.com/SzZGm9W0vv
— Malik ♦️ (@Malik_TheKing) February 28, 2023
Congratulations @desmondridder I was a huge fan of yours in college and I'm happy to see you get the starring job 🤞 but remember you still gotta come through Carolina https://t.co/KX9R4hK1wg
— Zachary B. Roberds Sr (@shreditbro4real) February 28, 2023
Marcus Mariota released finally pic.twitter.com/65GI7RwuVU
— 𝕺𝖋𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖗𝖎𝖉 🅿️𝖚𝖋𝖋𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌 🇺🇬 (@FalconsGotNext2) February 28, 2023
Marcus Mariota in the XFL pic.twitter.com/MeVzgSLz20
— The Dawgzilla (@TheDawgzilla) February 28, 2023
I don’t want to hear a SINGLE word #Titans fans.
…Not one word https://t.co/vpvZdtDJGn
— Taylor S Hurst (@TitansMan97) February 28, 2023
thank you for your service? https://t.co/PbtGg660qC
— Roy Bellamy (@roybelly) February 28, 2023
