Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder will start on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints in Week 12, head coach Arthur Smith confirmed. It was first reported over the weekend, but Ridder will reclaim the starting job from Taylor Heinicke (hamstring) as the Falcons come out of the bye. Smith has renewed confidence in Ridder after seeing how he played in relief of Heinicke in Week 11 against the Arizona Cardinals. Ridder has 6 passing and 4 rushing touchdowns in nine games (eight starts) this season, but he also has 6 interceptions and 6 lost fumbles. Ridder is the QB22 in numberFire's Week 12 rankings and our models project him for 14.3 FanDuel points, with 192.8 passing yards, 1.22 touchdowns, 0.6 interceptions, 3.6 rush attempts, and 15.8 rushing yards. The Saints are ranked 13th in FanDuel points allowed per game to quarterbacks and they have the seventh-best pass defense in the NFL, according to numberFire's opponent-adjusted rankings.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder will start for the team going forward, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Ridder was benched for veteran passer Taylor Heinicke over the team's last 2.5 games before the bye week. Now, it seems as though Arthur Smith and Co. are opting to return to the second-year signal caller. Ridder's return lowers the ceiling for Atlanta's receivers, namely Drake London and Kyle Pitts. For Week 12 against New Orleans, our models project Ridder for 189.7 passing yards, 1.0 touchdowns, 0.9 interceptions and 12.8 FanDuel points.