Those expecting a quarterback position battle to unfold in Atlanta between veteran Marcus Mariota and rookie Desmond Ridder were treated to a one-day affair, after Falcons quarterback coach Jack London said on Wednesday that Mariota is the starter and Ridder is the backup.
“Marcus is the starter,” London told The Athletic. “That’s how we’re going into this thing.”
Mariota’s role was always expected after the team inked him to a two-year deal worth up to $18.75 million just a few days after they traded longtime starter Matt Ryan to the Colts.
Mariota has familiarity with head coach Arthur Smith from their days together in Tennessee when Smith was the offensive coordinator for the Titans, and although Ridder is a talented young quarterback it always seemed like he was going to come in behind Mariota at least for year one.
Mariota’s career hasn’t quite gone according to plan. After getting selected No. 2 overall in 2015 out of Oregon, he went just 29-32 as a starter for the Titans – tossing 77 touchdowns and 45 interceptions. He was eventually benched during the 2019 season and released shortly after, spending the next two years as a backup to Derek Carr in Las Vegas.
Now he’ll look to get things going again on a team with little weapons elsewhere, especially after star receiver Calvin Ridley got hit with an indefinite suspension for gambling on NFL games.
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