Calais Campbell Dec 18, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; General view of a Atlanta Falcons helmet during warm ups against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Falcons released veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota on Tuesday.

The Falcons officially moved on from the former first-round pick in a move that frees up a significant amount of cap space. ESPN NFL insider Field Yates reported that the release created $12 million in cap space for the team. Atlanta is now armed with the second most cap space in the NFL, as the release of Mariota has them close to having $65 million available.

Mariota spent only one season with the Falcons. After making 13 starts, in which the team went 5-8, the Falcons benched Mariota in favor of former second-round pick Desmond Ridder. On the season, Mariota threw for 2,219 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions, completing 61.3% of his passes.

The former Tennessee Titans quarterback reunited with his old offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, in Atlanta. After going 29-32 during his five-year tenure in Tennessee, Mariota saw himself backing up Derek Carr in Las Vegas from 2020-21. From there, the former Heisman Trophy winner was able to earn his shot at a starting gig with the Falcons, though that experiment only lasted 13 games.

Mariota left the Falcons after his demotion, so his release on Tuesday didn’t come as a surprise. The Falcons would later place Mariota on injured reserve with a knee injury, but it was later revealed that wasn’t necessarily the reason he wasn’t with the team and that he reportedly played through the injury for most of the season.

We’ll have to see what this means for Atlanta, as Smith has already gone out of his way to praise Ridder, but also made sure not to anoint him as the team’s starter. For all intents and purposes, the Falcons starting quarterback in 2023 may not be on the current roster.

[Field Yates]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.