On Wednesday, the Atlanta Falcons indicated that they would temporarily roll with quarterback Taylor Heinicke over quarterback Desmond Ridder for the team’s home game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Head coach Arthur Smith indicated that the move didn’t signal any long-term ambitions as much as “lot of variables” that went into the decision.
Whether Heinicke lights up the Vikings secondary this weekend or turns into a pumpkin after his promising second-half start against the Tennessee Titans this past Sunday, the Falcons are starting to signal that a major quarterback change will eventually come for this franchise.
By even benching Ridder for a week in a seemingly must-win game to boost Atlanta’s playoff hopes, the Falcons are positioning themselves to find the true heir apparent to quarterback Matt Ryan next spring.
In 2023, Ridder’s up-and-down play featured plenty of gains in the passing game but far too many turnovers. If you wanted to find a growing quarterback in his film that was worth investing in this season, you could. If you wanted to find a turnover-plagued third-round pick, you could.
Heinicke may just be another bridge quarterback for the Falcons, but the team putting him in the game for Sunday says that they trust him more right now to go out there and win. The team would be 5-4 and very alive for an NFC South title push with a victory, and the team is not putting that in Ridder’s hands for the moment.
After starting 2-0, the Falcons have gone 2-4 in the past six games. Three wins this season have came on last-minute field goals from clutch kicker Younghoe Koo. Without Koo’s reliable leg, the team might be at 1-7 on the season. However, Ridder’s costly turnovers against the Washington Commanders and a failed last-minute comeback against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday have cost the Falcons a chance at being 6-2. It’s a stark contrast.
The margin for error has been so thin this season for Atlanta, separating a major NFC playoff contender from a top-five drafting team and leaving them with a 4-4 question mark instead. Smith’s Falcons have gotten into a habit of playing in a lot of close games, and they’d have to hope they’d eventually get to the point of separating some of the margins in those contests.
By benching Ridder for this week, they’re betting on Heinicke to make this Falcons team the best immediate version of itself on offense. With the team’s notable defensive gains, that could be enough to win the division or at least push for a Wild Card spot. If it doesn’t work out and the team has another losing season, Smith and his coaching staff could be on the hot seat.
More likely, a regime plagued without many good options at the quarterback position post-Ryan will be tasked with finding a long-term option in the 2024 NFL Draft or via a trade for a veteran quarterback like Arizona Cardinals Kyler Murray or Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
The Falcons have had some rotten luck with the succession plan, hampered by an extremely ill-advised pursuit of quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2022. If not for that failed trade attempt, Ryan admitted later that spring that he might’ve still been in a Falcons uniform for the 2022 season.
Atlanta understandably stood clear of the 2021 and 2022 NFL Draft quarterback options in the first round that were available to them (names like Fields, Mac Jones, Kenny Pickett. The only player they might’ve taken a chance on at pick eight in this past NFL Draft was Will Levis, who just got his first win against the Falcons but is still a relative unknown for his long-term viability.
There really haven’t been a lot of good free agent quarterback options since Ryan was traded away during the 2022 offseason, and it never made sense to go after someone like Russell Wilson. The Watson trade already looks like an absolute disaster for Cleveland, one Atlanta somehow avoided after nearly making that awful trade themselves.
Even the Lamar Jackson scenario looks less and less realistic for Atlanta (or any NFL team) in the rearview when you consider how likely it was that the Baltimore Ravens would’ve smartly matched any contract a team would’ve negotiated with Jackson in a possible trade.
Sans that terrible Watson snafu, it makes sense for why the Falcons have sat on their hands with making a long-term decision at quarterback when you consider the options available. However, the roster is as competitive as it’s been in years for Atlanta, and the team cannot afford to wait any longer.
Unless Heinicke turns into the next Ryan Tannehill or Ridder gets another shot and plays very well, it feels like a virtual guarantee that the Falcons will be one of the teams searching for their next quarterback in 2024.
It feels likely that Smith will be the coach to help make that decision next year, but he and general manager Terry Fontenot will have to get it right. It doesn’t matter where they draft or the options that are available; they’ll have to make something work.
Until the Falcons really find the quarterback of tomorrow, not even a division title and playoff berth can keep you from wondering if nailing that huge decision is what this regime’s future will ultimately come down to.
