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- Ryan Tannehill was not quick to jump on board with mentoring his new rookie quarterback competition.
- That is not the case with Marcus Mariota, who gave the complete opposite answer.
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The Atlanta Falcons are one of the teams in the NFL that has some uncertainty at quarterback ahead of 2022. Despite the fact that a rookie will be competing against a veteran, the latter is not shying away from teaching the former.
The same can not necessarily be said about the Titans.
Earlier this year, Tennessee drafted quarterback Malik Willis in the third round and did not inform incumbent starter Ryan Tannehill. When the veteran was asked if he would mentor Willis, he said that it was not his job to do so.
That, of course, caused quite a bit of controversy. Willis eventually cleared the air and Tannehill recently walked back his comments, saying that they were spun to mean something that they didn’t.
A similar situation is not taking place in Atlanta. The Falcons, who traded Matt Ryan to Indianapolis during the offseason, signed Marcus Mariota to replace him. They also drafted former Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder.
When Mariota was asked about mentoring Ridder, he had the complete opposite answer from Tannehill.
Although he is hungry to start for the team this fall, he is happy to teach his rookie counterpart.
“Absolutely,” Mariota said about whether he would mentor Ridder. “I kind of always view that relationship in the quarterback room as important and special. I always felt that a good quarterback room can allow everybody to be better and allow everybody to grow. … At the end of the day if they’ve got questions or I’ve got questions, they’re a great set of eyes for me as well.”
Mariota has an open door to earn a starting role with the team. He is ready to take full advantage.
“For me personally the last couple of years was a learning opportunity,” Mariota said. “Previously when I was at Tennessee I had an opportunity to play. I was a starter. Being around that and then going and learning for a couple of years, I’m kind of hungry to get back on the field again.”
Whomever ends up being the starter this fall is tasked with leading Atlanta out of irrelevancy. With the sheer size their current receiver room, it’s not impossible!