Atlanta Falcons got it right keeping Logan Woodside for the final 53

All offseason long we heard about how the Atlanta Falcons two quarterbacks would be Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. But, as it would turn out, we were all overlooking Logan Woodside.

Woodside was picked up last year off of the Tennessee Titans' practice squad to take over for Marcus Mariota as the backup quarterback. It looked like Woodside would be headed to the practice squad but he proved everyone wrong with a phenomenal preseason which forced him onto the final 53-man roster.

The Atlanta Falcons were smart to keep QB Logan Woodside on the roster

There are so many difficult decisions that have to be made during final roster cuts, especially for the 2023 Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons had a lot of players step up during the preseason and one of those players was quarterback Logan Woodside.

Woodside was a star for the Falcons. He was the starter for the entirety of the first preseason game and then played a fair number of snaps in the next two games. In total, he went 42 for 60 with 400 yards and while he didn't have a passing touchdown, he didn't have much of a chance to throw one (J.J. Arcega-Whiteside did drop one).

The Falcons had to keep him around. If they had released him in hopes that they could eventually sign him to their practice squad, they would be taking a big risk of losing him.

There are teams out there that are still looking for a backup quarterback. The Patriots, for example, released both of their backup quarterbacks. They seem like a team that would have loved to snag Logan Woodside.

Not to mention, even if you sneak him onto the practice squad, teams would still be allowed to sign him to their active roster (as long as Woodside agreed).

There is also the new rule that allows you to have an emergency third quarterback dressed for each game without taking up an active spot, so the Falcons will essentially have an extra player active as long as they have three quarterbacks.

All in all, the Falcons would have been making a huge mistake if they had released Logan Woodside. They got this decision right.