General manager Terry Fontenot and the Atlanta Falcons are making it perfectly clear. Desmond Ridder is not the answer at the quarterback position.
Atlanta is going to be extremely aggressive finding a quarterback to replace Ridder this offseason. Fontenot did not hold back in talking about their quarterback situation recently.
“We have a lot of really smart people in the building. We’re going to spend a lot of time together, make sure we attack that the right way. We’re not going to close any doors, be it trades, free agency, the draft. We will make sure we keep an open mind there and we’re going to attack it and make sure we get it right.”
Atlanta Falcons GM Terry Fontenot on the team’s quarterback situation
Atlanta is currently favored to land Minnesota Vikings star Kirk Cousins in NFL free agency this offseason. Whether anything comes to fruition on that end remains to be seen. But it must be noted that the Vikings are reportedly unwilling to hand Cousins a fully-guaranteed contract. That could change the dynamic between the Pro Bowl quarterback and his current team.
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Atlanta Falcons in position to land upgrade at quarterback
Atlanta currently finds itself $29 million under the 2024 NFL salary cap. They can save another $30 million by releasing the likes of Grady Jarrett, Jonnu Smith and Taylor Heinicke. All three moves are expected ahead of free agency opening in March.
This would put the Falcons in position to land an upgrade over Ridder at quarterback. A third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Ridder has thrown all of 14 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions in 17 career starts. He’s certainly not the answer.
With Raheem Morris having taken over for Arthur Smith as the Falcons’ head coach, a change is expected at quarterback.
In addition to Cousins, the likes of Baker Mayfield, Jacoby Brissett, Ryan Tannehill, Jameis Winston and Gardner Minshew are slated to hit NFL free agency.
Meanwhile, there is a whole heck of a lot of options on the trade block. That includes Justin Fields (Chicago Bears) and Mac Jones (New England Patriots).
It will certainly be interesting to see what the Falcons do at this all-important position in the coming weeks. That’s for sure.