So far this season, veteran Marcus Mariota has served as the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, and even though he’s struggled at times, he’s still put the team in playoff contention with a 5-8 record – just one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South Division race. However, it looks like the team is making a switch at the quarterback position anyway.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network, the Atlanta Falcons are planning to bench Marcus Mariota in favor of rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder out of Cincinnati.
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
“Sources: The #Falcons are looking to the future, making a QB switch to rookie Desmond Ridder as the starter,” Rapoport said in a Tweet on Thursday morning. “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.”
It’s a massive shakeup for a team that is still very much in the NFL Playoff race, and the NFL world had plenty to say about it on Twitter.
Looks like rookie Desmond Ridder will make his debut in the Superdome against the Saints after both teams are on a bye this week. https://t.co/7rxugEe6k9
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) December 8, 2022
Like this for a handful of reasons:
– Needed to be done; Mariota wasn't effective enough in passing game
– Mariota's cap hit goes from $4mil to $14 mil next season; can save $12mil
– Hopefully means Ridder isn't behind schedule and is ready to get in and learn from real action https://t.co/VHTzeQYR9v— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) December 8, 2022
Makes a ton of sense. Really interested to see how Desmond Ridder performs. I liked certain qualities about him during the pre-draft process. https://t.co/3aqEqmljmK
— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) December 8, 2022
This is the right move. Both to get Ridder valuable #NFL experience, and the 5-8 #Falcons need to evaluate what they have. They have 4 games to see. https://t.co/ZIkhD6iQKS
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) December 8, 2022
It's beyond time. Marcus Mariota was AWFUL against Pittsburgh. https://t.co/Dkv87NYMm9
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) December 8, 2022
Ridder will now inherit the starting job and has a chance to lead his team to a playoff berth in just his first few games as an NFL starter.
