Falcons release benched QB Marcus Mariota in cap move

The Atlanta Falcons released quarterback Marcus Mariota on Tuesday in a move to both free up more salary cap space and also move on from a player on the roster who had lost his starting position.

Mariota started the first 13 games of the 2022 season for the Falcons before being benched at the bye for rookie Desmond Ridder, who started the final four games of the year.

Mariota then left the team to have a procedure done on his knee and was placed on injured reserve. By cutting Mariota, Atlanta saved $12 million on its cap for 2023 — the Falcons already have the second-most cap space in the league at a little over $56 million before the move.

Mariota's release will incur a $2.5 million dead money hit on the Falcons, but considering Mariota was not going to be in line to compete for the starting job this fall, moving on made sense before the team had to pay him a $3 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2023 league year.

The 29-year-old signed with Atlanta last season on the same day the team traded Matt Ryan to Indianapolis after a failed pursuit of Deshaun Watson. It was Mariota's second chance at a starting gig after losing his starting job with the Tennessee Titans in 2019 and spending the next two seasons as Derek Carr's backup with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Mariota completed 61.3% of his passes last season for 2,219 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also had career-highs as a rusher with 85 carries for 438 yards, scoring four touchdowns, the second-most rushing touchdowns in his career. He also knew it was likely his last opportunity to show he could be a starting quarterback in the NFL, acknowledging his past in Tennessee — where he was the No. 2 pick of the 2015 draft only to lose his job to Ryan