Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota courted a bit of controversy for the way he left that team after being benched for then-rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder with just four games to go in the 2022 season.
After Mariota signed with the Falcons to replace Matt Ryan, he wound up being pulled from the starting lineup by head coach Arthur Smith that December. Mariota had previously been benched for Ryan Tannehill while Smith was the offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans.
A sentiment bubbled up that Mariota had quit on the Falcons after being benched by opting to end his season early by having knee surgery, even though he had Ridder’s support and other players on the team reportedly felt no ill will toward Mariota when he left.
Mariota did see the birth of his first child fall right around his benching, which likely gave more weight to why he decided to step away for the remainder of the season. The Falcons wound up releasing Mariota in the offseason to give Ridder the inside track to start this fall.
With its debut on Wednesday, Netflix’s new series Quarterback, of which Mariota is one of three primary subjects, finally gave NFL fans the inside story on what actually happened between the quarterback and the Falcons.
According to Mariota, Smith told him that the team was going in another direction with Ridder to see what he could do for the future.
“So, ultimately, it’s a long story, really,” Mariota told the documentary crew. “So, during the bye week, my daughter was born, Makaia. When she was born, Art brought me in… the following day. It was, like, talking about the future and kind of what he wanted to do, and they told me that they were going to play Des for the last four games. Initially, he had said, ‘At this point and time in the year, the playoffs are a long shot, and we just kind of want to see what Des can do.'”
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Smith said that he and Mariota didn’t discuss the latter having a knee procedure when they talked about his benching.
“When he and I had that conversation, that’s not what we talked about,” Smith said on the show. “Those are private conversations, but it was more about where we were as a team, and as a player, and what the future might hold.”
After Mariota, the image of him “quitting” quickly circulated around the NFL. However, the quarterback said he felt he was doing what was best for everyone involved, including the Falcons.
“I don’t know why it had to be that narrative,” Mariota reflected on the idea of him quitting. “I gave everything I had for this team. I thought I was making a good decision for everybody. … Ultimately, we decided that getting my knee fixed was in the best interest. I came home, got my knee fixed and [have] been in Vegas.”
However, it doesn’t seem like Smith holds anything against Mariota for his in-season departure. Instead, he affirmed Mariota’s humanity in the moment.
“I love Marcus; thankful that I got to spend more time with him,” Smith said of his former quarterback. “People look at them, and they think they’re robots. They wear a helmet, that they’re these modern-day gladiators, but there’s life outside this building. He gave us everything he had.”
While Mariota is now with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Falcons are going forward with Ridder, it appears that it’s all good between the quarterback and his former team. Life goes on for both parties.
