Atlanta Falcons officially sign quarterback of the future

With the Atlanta Falcons training camp just around the corner, the eyes are squarely on the future of the franchise. How will the team portray in 2022? Will they be competitive or a top pick watch? How will the installation of the “full Dean Pees” playbook play out? And will Marcus Mariota or Desmond Ridder be the Falcons’ quarterback of the future?

Provided the readers have, back when the NFL draft occurred and the Falcons selected Ridder in the third round, I felt as if he would be the best quarterback to succeed Matt Ryan both in the short-term and the long-term. While that can be chalked up to a complete overreaction, his leadership and intangibles just screamed “Atlanta’s future” following the Deshaun Watson pursuit.

Well, Falcons fans, the future is officially now, because, in a team release, Ridder has not only reported to the beginning of training camp for the rookies but he’s also signed on the dotted line in Flowery Branch.

According to OvertheCap’s rookie estimate scale, Ridder’s four-year deal would be roughly worth $5.62 million. This is commensurate with being selected 74th overall in the draft, which also places him at roughly 819th if the team was foolish enough to trade him.

The basis of the contract would be as follows:

2022: $705,000 base salary, $317,953 prorated bonus, $1,022,953 cap hit

2023: $960,738 base salary, $1,278,691 cap hit

2024: $1,216,476 base salary, $1,534,429 cap hit

2025: $1,472,214 base salary, $1,790,167 cap hit 

Now, with all positional battles, Ridder as a rookie will be behind the incumbent starter for the Falcons, who in this case is Marcus Mariota. And while Mariota right now has been getting an unfavorable rap, there might be a better chance than most believe for him succeeding in Atlanta than meets the eye. Not to mention, while his last time with Arthur Smith as the offensive mastermind ended in his benching, which then led to him being a backup in Vegas for a year, Mariota’s agility did show up on occasion, which could bode well for this offense.

Furthermore, while Ridder’s collegiate tape did show much of the same, it’s probably safer for the team to play the Patrick Mahomes route for this young man. Now, please don’t assume this means Ridder will throw 50+ touchdowns and 5,000 yards in his first year of starting; that’s completely ridiculous. Rather, it seems like this would be the best way for his development: learn from Mariota on the sidelines, focus on mastering the playbook (which he’s clearly doing in his own time), and then shock the system in 2023.