The quarterback position remains easily the biggest question mark on the Atlanta Falcons' roster between underperformance last season and a new coaching staff coming in.
Most believe that the Falcons will have a new quarterback next season, and it's not hard to see why. Neither Desmond Ridder nor Taylor Heinicke played particularly well in 2023, and with Atlanta having a decently-talented roster, a simple upgrade under center could make a huge difference
That said, Raheem Morris and the new coaching staff are still going to take a look at what they already have. In fact, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said he's eager to get to work with Ridder specifically and see how they click.
“I’ll keep that under wraps for right now, but I’m excited to watch a little bit more of Des," Robinson said at his introductory press conference on Wednesday. "To be honest, haven’t seen a ton yet. Just still kind of working through the process there. Definitely connecting with all of those guys is going to be a great deal. I look forward to doing that.”
A 2022 third-round pick, Ridder has shown some flashes of quality play, but has largely struggled thus far. The Cincinnati product started 13 games for Atlanta this season while completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,836 yards, 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He added 193 yards and five touchdowns as a rusher, but also fumbled 12 times, tied for the third-most in the league.
Falcons fans were upset with Ridder for a number of reasons this season, but perhaps most notably was his tendency to turn the ball over in the red zone. The most-frustrating game for the young quarterback came in a humiliating loss to the lowly Carolina Panthers on Dec. 17, when he threw a costly interception deep in enemy territory.
After an uninspiring performance over his first two seasons, Ridder faces an uphill battle in trying to earn another year with the Dirty Birds. At the very least, his new offensive coordinator isn't giving up hope just yet.
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