Desmond Ridder News

After the acquisition of Taylor Heinicke, Rothstein reported that Ridder was still expected to be Atlanta's starter, but Smith confirmed that notion Tuesday. Smith's comments also suggest that the Falcons aren't targeting a quarterback with their No. 8 overall pick in the upcoming draft. Ridder took over for Marcus Mariota and started the final four games of the 2022 campaign, recording a 63.5 percent completion percentage, 708 passing yards and two passing touchdowns while totaling 16 rushing attempts for 64 yards. After losing his first two starts, Atlanta won back-to-back games to end the season, bringing optimism for the future, but Ridder did lose a fumble in each of those wins, marking the first turnovers of his career.

It's become evident that Atlanta wants to see what it has in Ridder, the No. 74 overall pick in last year's NFL Draft. Ridder made four rookie-year starts to close out last season but wasn't totally impressive, completing 63.5 percent of his throws for 177 yards per game and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Heinicke will definitely give Ridder a run at the job in camp, but Heinicke has also probably maxed out as an upper-echelon backup rather than a 17-game starter in the NFL.

Ridder wasn't overly prolific or efficient, but he avoided turnovers and made plays when he needed to. He had a strong connection with Drake London, who finished with a career-high 120 receiving yards, but Ridder's touchdown passes went to Olamide Zaccheaus and MyCole Pruitt. It was Atlanta's second win with Ridder under center, and the two-game win streak to end the campaign is certainly an encouraging finish to build off of going into the offseason. However, the Falcons are likely still going to be in the market for a quarterback this offseason, leaving Ridder's future unclear.

Ridder has still yet to throw a touchdown through three career starts, though he's reached 6.5 yards per attempt in each of his last two games. He did very little early in Sunday's win, though he led a game-winning drive in the final moments of the fourth quarter during which he went 3-for-3 for 31 yards to help get the team in field-goal range. Though the Falcons have remained a run-focused offense, Ridder has shown a baseline ability to run the offense in the first few starts of his career.

He added eight rushing yards on four carries. The young QB was much more efficient than he was last week in his NFL debut and showed great chemistry with fellow rookie Drake London, who accounted for 96 of his 218 passing yards, but Ridder still failed to produce a TD, just as he did against the Saints. The 2022 third-round pick will have two more chances to complete his first career touchdown pass before the end of the season -- next week against the Cardinals and in Week 18 against the Buccaneers, both home games for the Falcons.

Ridder completed just half of his pass attempts and had an interception overturned to start the second half, resulting in an extremely disappointing debut through the air. However, the rookie third-round pick attempted to salvage his offensive production by showcasing his dual-threat ability. Overall, there wasn't much to take away from Ridder's performance, but the lone bright spot was the connection he appeared to have with fellow rookie Drake London, as the duo connected seven times (11 targets) for 70 yards. With Marcus Mariota (knee) out for the remainder of the regular season, Ridder should continue drawing starts, regardless of his performance.