The Atlanta Falcons are on their bye this week, but when they return to the practice field in preparation for their Week 12 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, there will be a new QB1. The Falcons will go back to their original starting quarterback, and play Desmond Ridder going forward, per NFL Media. Taylor Heinicke is going back to the bench.
Ridder, who was selected by Atlanta in the third round of last year's draft, was benched for Heinicke following Atlanta's Week 8 loss to the Tennessee Titans. In the first half of that matchup, Ridder threw for 71 yards, was sacked five times and lost a fumble. He was evaluated for a concussion at halftime, and did not return to the game while Heinicke led a comeback effort that came up just short.
Heinicke then got the nod for Atlanta's Week 9 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings -- an eventual loss that was headlined by Vikings' trade-deadline acquisition Joshua Dobbs, who led a game-winning drive despite being with the team for just a few days. Heinicke also started the Falcons' Week 10 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, but exited early due to a hamstring injury. Atlanta lost that game as well, making it the third straight loss for the Falcons. In his two starts, Heinicke threw for 323 total yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
NFL Media reports that the Falcons believe the bulk of Ridder's mistakes are correctable, and felt he had a lot of learning to do. Sending Ridder to the bench was more for a reset, with the goal to always go back to him.
Ridder is 4-4 as the starter this season, and has completed 65.4% of his passes for 1,740 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions in nine total games played. Turnovers have been an issue for Ridder. In the Week 7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the young quarterback turned the ball over three times in the red zone. Ridder led the league in giveaways with 12 when he was benched, a mark that has since been surpassed by Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, and matched by New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones.
It remains to be seen if Ridder will be able to hold onto the starting job into 2024, but it sounds like it will be him under center for the remainder of the 2023 campaign.
