Falcons QB Marcus Mariota 'hungry' to start, will mentor Desmond Ridder

Current Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback Marcus Mariota is in somewhat of a difficult spot this summer. It's no secret the Falcons really wanted star signal-caller Deshaun Watson and only settled on Mariota after Watson waived his no-trade clause to join the Cleveland Browns in March and after Atlanta traded Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts following the club's pursuit of Watson. 

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith told reporters on Thursday he's not looking for Mariota to match Ryan's many accomplishments beginning this fall. Mariota, who lost his job to Ryan Tannehill when with the Tennessee Titans and who later served as a backup with the Las Vegas Raiders, let it be known he's happy to be atop a depth chart again. 

"For me personally the last couple of years was a learning opportunity," Mariota explained, per Nick Shook of the league's website. "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."

Tannehill has been in the news throughout May for saying he was "competing against" rookie and third-round draft pick Malik Willis and for insisting it's not his "job" to mentor the first-year pro. In that same draft round, Atlanta added former Cincinnati Bearcats starter Desmond Ridder to its roster. Mariota assured media members he will "absolutely" mentor his new teammate. 

"I kind of always view that relationship in the quarterback room as important and special," the 28-year-old said. "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."