Entering the offseason, the Falcons had Desmond Ridder at the top of their quarterback depth chart. The rookie ended the season as the starter in 2022, and Atlanta has expressed a desire to develop him as such heading into his second year.
In an interview with NFL Network’s Steve Wyche on Sunday, Falcons coach Arthur Smith said the team believes in Ridder so much, they wouldn’t have had a problem starting him in Week 1 over Marcus Mariota last season. He also maintained that the team plans to move forward in 2023 with the former Cincinnati star as the starter.
“When we drafted Desmond, he sat behind Marcus, and certainly, we thought going into Week 1, if he was ready to go and he played better than Marcus, we would’ve played him,” Smith said. “But it allowed us to bring him along. We didn’t feel like we had to rush him.”
