What It Means:

The move reunites Mariota with Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, with whom Mariota worked while the pair were employed by the Tennessee Titans. Mariota, who eventually lost his job as the Titans' starter to Ryan Tannehill, has since spent the past two seasons backing up Derek Carr in Las Vegas. He'll now likely head into the 2022 season as the Falcons' starting quarterback after the team's trade of Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts earlier today.

The Falcons aren't an ideal situation for any quarterback, unfortunately, having lost receiver Calvin Ridley to a minimum one-year suspension earlier this offseason. However, the former second overall pick will have the opportunity to play with tight end Kyle Pitts in his second season. Mariota's top target for most of his tenure in Tennessee was tight end Delanie Walker, which could bode well for Pitts' 2022 outlook.