The Atlanta Falcons have decided to bench starting quarterback Marcus Mariota in favor of rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder.
Atlanta is on its bye week, but when they return, they’ll have a new starter. A third-rounder from Cincinnati, Desmond Ridder flashed in the preseason. Now, he’ll have the opportunity do it in the regular season. https://t.co/Z0frh4L1yr
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 8, 2022
With Atlanta sitting with a record of 5-8, this move makes sense to a team not really pushing for the playoffs. Even though they are second in the division, the Falcons are looking to the future to see what they have in Desmond Ridder.
Ridder was a third round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of the University of Cincinnati. He has had plenty of success at the college level leading Cincinnati to the College Football Playoff last season.
Marcus Mariota has not been bad when playing the quarterback position for the Atlanta Falcons, but he has not been good either. Mariota’s accuracy down the field is what makes this offense somewhat one dimensional. Even though it has been working to some degree, the Falcons record does not show for it. Mariota only completed 61.3% of his passes with 15 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
The Falcons are currently on their bye week. This is a good time to further ingratiate Ridder into the offense and to build up chemistry with his offensive weapons. It remains to be seen if the offense will change from a run-heavy approach. A more balanced offense with a rookie QB may be best to see what they have.
Ridder will not have his allotment of weapons when he starts, however. It’s too bad that Atlanta will be without star tight end Kyle Pitts for the rest of the season. This could mean good things for rookie wide receiver Drake London. He has not had as much production since the beginning of the season.
The Atlanta Falcons are still +1000 to win the NFC South according to NFL betting sites. Maybe Ridder and the Falcons can catch up to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It his highly unlikely, however, given his experience level.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
