Atlanta Falcons should still be in quarterback market this off-season

The Atlanta Falcons have a number of tough decisions to make this off-season including what to do about the most important position on the field. Desmond Ridder showed steady improvement in his four starts but failed to flash star potential that gives Atlanta reason to believe he can turn this franchise around.

Ridder’s first win of the season came against David Blough a practice squad quarterback who outplayed Ridder until the final drive of the game. The rookie’s second win happened against the Bucs who pulled many of their starters and trotted out Kyle Trask at quarterback.

Desmond will finish the season 2-2 having protected the football and doing nothing to hurt his status moving forward. While the quarterback did nothing to hurt his status his starts were underwhelming as well.

Atlanta should still be looking for a quarterback this off-season either to compete with Ridder or a star that Desmond can sit behind and learn from. The likelihood of Atlanta landing a top quarterback when there are teams with far better rosters looking for a starter is unlikely. However, the Falcons should still attempt to search for a star capable of pushing them into playoff contention.

If they are unable to land one of the off-season’s top quarterbacks they should at the very least bring in a Ryan Tannehill or a Jimmy G. to compete with Ridder and allow the rookie to either prove himself or learn from a veteran.

Desmond Ridder could still prove himself to be a franchise quarterback through his first two games and being outplayed by Blough are both concerns. Rookie moments are to be expected but to go with those rookie moments you need flashes of what you are capable of becoming. Ridder is missing the tape to convince the Atlanta Falcons he is a franchise quarterback if they truly believed in his ability to be a long term answer why did they let Mariota struggle so long this season?