HC Arthur Smith decided to start rookie QB Desmond Ridder to see what he could do for the last 4 games of season.
Instead of sticking around to help the young guy, Mariota pouted - then said he had to leave the team take care of a "knee injury" - that no one on the Falcons' medical staff or coaches were aware of --- because Mariota did not miss a snap during the first 13 games.
Atlanta had lost 4 of its previous 5 games when the head coach benched the veteran QB. When that happened, Mariota all of a sudden had a "knee injury" that required him "stepping away" from the team.
playing for phil will be totally different than playing for atlanta.
Him leaving after being benched is no big deal , he knew he would not be with atlanta in 23, and they were not playing for chance for playoffs.
He could have had a knee that hurt, so why stay and just stand on sidelines. QB's that are replaced usually are not much help to the guy
that is replacing them. They have qb coach for that.
He is mainly just a running qb now, ask him to throw much and he will throw a dumb int.