"At the end of the day, it was just more excitement about the opportunity to be here," Mariota said. Mariota said Smith asked if he wanted to come in if Ryan, who was traded to the Indianapolis Colts on Monday, decided to leave, and Mariota was intrigued. 8 is being used by the Falcons' top receiving target, tight end Kyle Pitts, said the team reached out to him once there were conversations about Ryan being traded. He would be the first full-time starter other than Ryan since another former Oregon quarterback, Joey Harrington, essentially had the role for the majority of the 2007 season. 27, 2019, when Matt Schaub filled in for Ryan because of injury. Should he win the job, Mariota will be the Falcons' first different starting quarterback since Oct. He's learned from them, I've learned from them, and we feel excited about the opportunity." "He's got a high-end talent, and he understands what's happened in the past. He's in a different spot in his career, and I trust Marcus, and Marcus, he's going to come in here and he's going to give us everything he's got. "So Marcus is a high-end talent just like Ryan was. Ironically, they're completely different players, but Ryan Tannehill was in this situation when we got Ryan," Smith said. "There's been a lot of growth from him and myself. Smith said Wednesday that part of why he wanted to bring Mariota in was because of the trust they had with each other. Now, Mariota said, he expects the communication will be better because of the things he learned with the Raiders. With the Titans, Mariota said he wasn't communicating to Smith enough and was just "trying to do whatever I could to please the coach." Part of what attracted Mariota to the Falcons is Smith, who he believes will always be honest with him. I got a chance to take a step back, learn, and I feel like I have and these experiences have created a lot of value for me." "These last couple of years for me was a great reset. I was just kind of tired of all the turnover, was tired of being beat up, and I wasn't playing well, and at the end of the day, this is a performance-based business, and when you're not playing well, things happen, and I understood that. "At that point in time in my career in 2019, I was tired. I went through coaching changes, went through a broken ankle, some of these things that people would call adversity," Mariota said. "During my time in Tennessee, we went through a lot of different things. By the end of his time with the Titans, Mariota said he was "mentally and physically beat up," and he said he has learned a lot over the past three seasons. His final season with the Titans was a struggle, though, as he completed 59.4% of his passes for 1,203 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions in seven games. 2 pick in the 2015 NFL draft, Mariota spent five years with the Titans, playing in 63 games with 61 starts and completing 62.9% of his passes for 13,207 yards and 76 touchdowns with 44 interceptions. He played in 11 games over the past two seasons, completing 60% of his passes for 230 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Mariota was benched in favor of Ryan Tannehill that season and eventually moved on to the Las Vegas Raiders, with whom he backed up Derek Carr for two years. The 28-year-old Mariota is walking into a potential starting role - although he said he hasn't been guaranteed the job - for the first time since the 2019 season, when he was the quarterback for the Tennessee Titans and their then-offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who is now the Falcons' coach. "I appreciate what he's done, appreciate what he's been for this organization, and the best thing that I can do is try to put my best foot forward and be the best player that I can be." What Matt did here, what he's accomplished here, is truly greatness, and for me, I just have to kind of carve my own path. "I think, for me, something I definitely learned over the course of my career is that you can't compare yourself to other people. "Those are big shoes to fill, no doubt," Mariota said Friday. New Falcons QB Marcus Mariota has to 'carve my own path' after Matt Ryan's run in AtlantaĪTLANTA - The Falcons need a full-time starting quarterback other than Matt Ryan for the first time since the 2007 season, and Marcus Mariota understands the significance of potentially being that replacement. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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