Falcon Report

Falcons 'Really Appreciate' Marcus Mariota Despite Release

Marcus Mariota was cut by the Atlanta Falcons Tuesday after starting 13 games at quarterback this season.

Jeremy Brener

In this story:

The Atlanta Falcons are parting ways with Marcus Mariota this morning after just one season with the team.

Mariota started the first 13 games of the season for the Falcons but surprisingly left the team after he was benched and elected to have surgery for a knee injury that didn't appear to be prevalent in any injury report throughout the season.

Despite the mystery surrounding the end of his tenure with the team, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot had nothing but nice things to say about Mariota.

"Yeah, we really appreciate Marcus and all the things he did while he was here," Fontenot said. "Personally, professionally, great man. We've had great communication with both he and his agent throughout the process. And so, we just believe we're doing what's best for the team at this time but got a lot of appreciation for him and what he did when he was here."

By cutting Mariota, the Falcons saved $12 million towards the cap space for this upcoming offseason and now hold about $78 million to go and sign other free agents. Among those will likely be a quarterback to give second-year pro Desmond Ridder some competition for the starting job throughout the offseason.

Follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

Get your HOTlanta Falcons game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Falcons? Click Here.

Follow Falcon Report on Twitter.

Want even more Atlanta Falcons news? Check out the SI.com team page here.

Published
Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

Home/News