After months of speculation and some interesting comments from veteran signing Taylor Heinicke, head coach Arthur Smith officially named Desmond Ridder as the Falcons starting quarterback at the NFL meetings on Tuesday.
The Atlanta Falcons have been busy this offseason, acquiring multiple starters in free agency alongside noteworthy draft capital thanks to previous trades. One area where the team hasn’t made a splash is at the most important position of all: quarterback. Atlanta has second-year prospect Desmond Ridder (who started four games at the end of the 2022 season), signed veteran Taylor Heinicke to a reasonable deal, and still has 2018 seventh-rounder Logan Woodside on the roster.
“I understand how people arrive at the conclusion that this feels like both collusion and racism when the Atlanta Falcons say, ‘no interest’…you don’t want to piss off Desmond Ridder.”
– Dan reacts to the latest Lamar Jackson news.
📺 https://t.co/qiT3uf36ep pic.twitter.com/mv9ZCLFmOz
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) March 27, 2023
#Falcons coach Arthur Smith said Desmond Ridder is the starting quarterback. “We expect Desmond to take the next step,” Smith said. (He would not comment about Lamar Jackson. “We are going to talk about our own players,” Smith said) pic.twitter.com/9U483xb2qz
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) March 28, 2023