Atlanta Falcons: Desmond Ridder shouldn’t start next season

Many Atlanta Falcons fans finally got their wish during the 2022 NFL Draft. The Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Desmond Ridder in the third round, thus giving a team a quarterback for the future. Some fans are chomping at the bit to get Desmond Ridder on the field. Rushing a rookie quarterback to get on the field is a dangerous game, however, and it’s a game the Falcons should be cautious of playing.

The Atlanta Falcons don’t need to rush Ridder on the field and he shouldn’t start the season as the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons.

This isn’t a knock against Desmond Ridder by any means. He’s a mobile quarterback who can deliver the football down the field. Ridder’s accuracy does come and go but who expects a rookie quarterback to come into the NFL and be completely polished.

This is more so about the state of the Falcons roster. Last season, the Falcons struggled with pass protection and running the football, pretty much the same issues that have plagued this team for the past four to five years. The last thing you want to do is put a rookie quarterback in a situation where the pieces around him haven’t been tested.

A perfect example of this would be David Carr when he was drafted by the Texans. Carr had the talent but was unable to live up to the hype because he spent the majority of his career on the ground due to spotty offensive line play. Forcing a quarterback to play with a team that isn’t equipped to protect him could set your team back. This is something the Falcons don’t need any more of.

Of course, there are some exceptions to this. If push comes to shove and Marcus Mariota comes down with an injury that could see him missing substantial time, the Falcons would then have no choice but to put Ridder into the fire. Maybe there’s a case where the team outside of the quarterback position is playing well and you want to see what the young man has then, by all means put him in.

The quarterback position is the most important position in sports. The last thing you want to do is put your potential franchise quarterback in a dangerous situation and that is something the Falcons don’t want to do with Desmond Ridder. Ridder could be the franchise quarterback the fans have been waiting for. Let’s not ruin it by rushing him on the field, no matter how excited and anxious we are to see him play.