Desmond Ridder's release further cements Falcons' inevitable success in 2024

Many of us had hope for Desmond Ridder last year. The Falcons' opening-day starter showed some progress in his four starts as a rookie, the playmakers around him, and the offensive line to keep him upright. Ultimately, things did not turn out well for the quarterback and, eventually, the team.

Ridder went into the offseason with an uncertain future. He was traded to the Arizona Cardinals after the signing of Kirk Cousins with the hopes of being Kyler Murray's backup.

However, that did not go well either as he was released and signed to the practice squad after getting beat out by Clayton Tune for the backup job. Just think about that from a Falcons perspective, they stayed relevant until the last few weeks of the season with a quarterback who couldn't even latch on as a backup eight months later.

Falcons success is inevitable thanks to major quarterback upgrade

No team in the NFL will have as big of a jump in quarterback play from last year to this year as the Atlanta Falcons, and no new quarterback is coming into a better situation than Kirk Cousins.

Last year, Desmond Ridder had his moments but nothing stuck. There were turnover-marred performances and his play held the team back big time. The Falcons had to rely on a resurgent defense which wore down in the final few weeks.

Insert Cousins into the picture and you can count on a reliable offense, especially with these playmakers.

The Falcons just went from a quarterback who couldn't make a roster (a roster that isn't very deep, especially at the QB position) to a quarterback who was on pace to win MVP last season. If he can return to even 80% of what he was last year, this team will make waves.

The whole dynamic of how the position has gone with the Dirty Birds is one of the craziest things we have ever seen. Not many teams can say they started a quarterback in nearly every game who couldn't even make a roster a handful of months later. The Jets can't even say that after Zach Wilson made the roster in Denver.