Falcons didn’t draft Desmond Ridder to replace him after one year

The talk of the offseason for the Atlanta Falcons has been their quarterback position. The team needs to identify their future at the most important position so they can set their sights on patching other holes.

Lamar Jacksons, Derek Carr, Ryan Tannehill, or a first-round pick all seem like legit options for the Falcons but we cannot ignore the simple fact that the Falcons used a third-round pick on Desmond Ridder, do you really think they would move on from him after four games?

Falcons drafted Desmond Ridder, which means they believe he has a bright future

Marcus Mariota was the Atlanta Falcons’ day-one starter in 2022, but it quickly became obvious that he wasn’t the future—apparently, it was clear to the fans much earlier than Arthur Smith. Mariota ended up being benched and left the team with four games remaining and the rookie Desmond Ridder was inserted in.

We can all agree that with each start Ridder had he got better and better. It is obvious that he has talent and strong intellectual ability, which is why the Falcons drafted him with the 74th overall pick.

There was talk that because Arthur Smith didn’t bench Mariota earlier, that meant he didn’t trust Ridder, which is simply untrue. If you don’t trust a quarterback then you aren’t going to run with him as your backup each week. Every player, including quarterbacks, is one play away from disaster. Each team must have a good backup. The Falcons believe in him, there is no doubt about it.

The only thing Desmond Ridder could have done by now to sway the opinion of the coaches is to have a terrible work ethic and look bad in practice each week, we haven’t heard any reports about that being the case. The Falcons drafted him for a reason, if they hadn’t trusted him, they wouldn’t have drafted him. Sure, you may not know a guy until he enters your building but one year is not enough time for a team to wave the white flag on a player’s career.

As for the vague answers by the team—after their final game of the season—on who their starting quarterback will be? That is what you have to say in order to not pigeonhole the team. Unless you have Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, that should be your answer.