After sitting down, Marcus Mariota leaves the Falcons

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Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota Outside. Literally.

After he was on the bench for beginners Desmond Reader For performance reasons, Mariota left the team. The team does not know if he will return.

Coach Arthur Smith said Mariota would be placed on injured reserve. A minimum absence of four games would knock him out for the remainder of the regular season. Via TheAthletic.com’s Josh Kendall, Smith said Tuesday that Mariota is Currently not with falcons.

Smith told Mariota last Thursday that he would be benched for Ridder. On Friday, Smith learned Mariota intended to “step away” from the team.

Instead of placing Mariota on an injured reserve, the Falcons can cut Mariota. Then it turns to concessions, such as Baker Mayfield did last week.

Mariota was the second overall pick in the 2015 draft. The Titans sat on him Ryan Tannehill in 2019.

After two seasons with the Raiders, Mariota signed a two-year deal with the Falcons. He received a $5 million signing bonus, and a fully guaranteed salary of $1.75 million for 2022.

Without Mariota, Logan Woodside will serve as the backup to Ridder, a third-round pick in April.