Top 3 reasons the Atlanta Falcons should trade for Derek Carr

2. Desmond Ridder isn’t capable of elevating the 2023 Atlanta Falcons

Four games into Desmond Ridder’s career isn’t enough to know for sure whether the quarterback is capable of developing into a starter. What it is enough to prove is that Ridder has a long way to go in his development and if the Falcons are serious about making a playoff push next season they need to add talent at quarterback.

Let’s set aside what Ridder did against Kyle Trask and a Tampa Bay Bucs team that was waving the white flag in the second half locked into a home playoff game and look at the rest of his production.

In his debut Ridder failed to pass for 100 yards and was clearly outplayed by Andy Dalton. Ridder followed this up by being outplayed by the Ravens’ backup quarterback Tyler Huntley in a 17-9 loss to the Ravens. The next week against an Arizona team that had clearly given up and was on their fourth quarterback in David Blough the Falcons still struggled to get to twenty points and watched as Blough outplayed Ridder for the majority of the game.

Ridder might be a rookie but going against three players who will be backups next season and struggling to crack twenty points each week is a major red flag. Just because Ridder is an improvement on Mariota doesn’t mean he is a long-term answer. Ridder simply didn’t show enough to give the Falcons a reason to believe he is the guy moving forward.