Which QB Should Falcons Start? Michael Vick Weighs In

The former starting quarterback has something to say on who should be the next to take over.

From 2001-06, quarterback Michael Vick started the majority of football games for the Atlanta Falcons.

Now, he's given his opinions as to who should start for the team this season between Marcus Mariota and rookie Desmond Ridder.

“I think it’s definitely Marcus’ job,” Vick told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Marcus should be the starter. I would think he would be the starter. Desmond (Ridder) would have to do some amazing things to overcome that.”

Vick's opinions mirror what the Falcons coaching staff believes. Quarterback coach Charles London named Mariota the starting quarterback after the first day of training camp.

"Obviously, we've got a plan for each of them. Marcus is the starter," said London, via The Athletic. "That's how we're going into this thing."

The move doesn't come as a huge surprise considering Mariota saw majority of the first-team reps and he has seven years of NFL experience on Ridder.

Mariota, 28, has had quite the rollercoaster of an NFL career. Entering the league as a Heisman Trophy winner and the 2015 draft's No. 2 overall selection, he was a day one starter in the league.

After trudging through injuries and spurts of inconsistent play with the Tennessee Titans, Mariota was benched in 2019, his fifth season in the league. He spent the last two seasons as Derek Carr's backup with the Las Vegas Raiders.

In Atlanta, Mariota gets to reunite with Smith, who was Tennessee's offensive coordinator in the fateful 2019 season. While things didn't work out too well last time for Mariota, he's off to a strong start with the Falcons, as Smith dubbed him (and Ridder) among the team's most impressive players at OTAs.

The biggest question Mariota must answer in camp is whether he's progressed since his time in Tennessee. Prior to his benching, Mariota was never given a chance to sit back and learn in the NFL, other than when he was out due to injury. The Raiders provided him with that opportunity, and he's now been given a rare (among quarterbacks) second chance to prove he's a starting-caliber signal caller.

The Falcons' pair of quarterbacks will get their first action with their new team tonight against the Detroit Lions at 6 p.m.