One-time MVP sends warning to Falcons' Desmond Ridder

One-time NFL regular season Most Valuable Player and current CBS Sports analyst Matt Ryan thinks the next six game weeks will help determine the future of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder beyond this season. 

"What you’re going to see in October and November will give you one full season to evaluate where he’s at," Ryan said about Ridder while speaking with Jeff Schultz of The Athletic. "The areas you’re looking for growth are situational play...If I put my GM cap on, I would say the next six weeks are important. Because with the Falcons, the decision (on Ridder’s future) hasn’t been made, yet."

Ridder entered the NFL last year as a third-round draft pick and made four starts as a rookie before he helped Atlanta reach a 3-3 record ahead of this Sunday's game at the 3-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to ESPN stats, the 24-year-old ended Week 6 ranked 25th in the league among qualified players with a 40.0 adjusted QBR and 24th with an 81.3 passer rating on the season. He tossed six touchdown passes and six interceptions across Atlanta's first six games. 

The Falcons were linked this past offseason with Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson before Jackson signed his monster deal with that organization. More recently, some have suggested Atlanta should pursue Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the Oct. 31 trade deadline. 

Cousins is on track to reach free agency after the season. 

"I wish for him that he had had more time playing last year," Ryan added about Ridder. "Everybody’s situation is different...I would’ve loved to have seen (Ridder) earlier because every game, every situation, is so valuable. I just don’t think you can get that from the sideline. There’s going to be growing pains."

It's far too early to say what quarterbacks will and won't be available this coming offseason, and it's unknown if Atlanta will be in a position to draft a top-tier signal-caller next spring. Assuming the Falcons don't land a proven commodity such as Cousins before October ends, Ridder should have through at least Week 18 to answer questions that Ryan and individuals inside the Falcons have about the second-year pro this fall.