Rookie Desmond Ridder has been named the Falcons' starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. | Atlanta Falcons/Facebook
Rookie Desmond Ridder has been named the Falcons' starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. | Atlanta Falcons/Facebook
The Atlanta Falcons have named rookie Desmond Ridder the team’s starting quarterback for the rest of the season, replacing veteran Marcus Mariota.
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said that if there were to be a personnel change, he would disclose the information before the bye week began; a recent Atlantafalcons.com report said. True to his word, Smith did just that, announcing one week later that Ridder would be the starting quarterback moving forward.
"Every option is on the table," Smith said after the team's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ridder’s ascension came after the team lost four of its last five games, with Mariota suddenly struggling after getting off to a hot start to open the season. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week after a near-perfect performance in the Falcons' 28-14 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
In his official Falcons regular-season debut, Ridder—a 2022 third-round draft choice and the second quarterback tabbed in that draft overall—will lead Atlanta on the road against the New Orleans Saints, giving Falcons fans something many of them have been clamoring for, the report said.
Mariota signed a two-year deal with the Falcons over the offseason after the team dealt longtime starter Matt Ryan to Indianapolis, with many seeing him as just a bridge until the Ridder era was ushered in.
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