Ahead of Week 14’s bye week, Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said “there will be changes made” and he sure was not messing around.
First and foremost, Smith confirmed the report that circulated last week indicating that the team would switch from veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota to rookie QB Desmond Ridder as the starter once they returned for Week 15.
“I did make a switch at quarterback. Desmond Ridder will be the starter. It’s a performance-based decision,” Smith officially announced during Monday’s press conference.
Ridder will get his first NFL career start on Sunday, December 17 against the New Orleans Saints.
“Obviously where our circumstances are, we talked last time about trying to get over the hump in some of these close games and where we try to push the offense,” Smith said. “We feel like that this is the best decision where he’s at, where the team’s at, as we prepare to go down to New Orleans.”
Smith Made a Surprising Announcement
In addition to making the change to Ridder, the Falcons signed quarterback Logan Woodside from the Tennessee Titans practice squad over the weekend.
The move was initially considered “odd” until Smith revealed that Mariota had been dealing with a “chronic” knee injury, which will likely put him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
“Signed Logan Woodside for depth,” Smith said. “The move was made as Marcus goes … he’s got a chronic knee that he wants to get evaluated. It had nothing to do with this decision, but he’s not here right now. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes, but anticipate him going on IR.”
As far as other injuries are concerned, Smith is optimistic that the team will have defensive tackle Jalen Dalton (toe) and outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie (forearm) back in the lineup Sunday. He is also “hopeful” that starting left guard Elijah Wilkinson will be activated to the 53-man roster from IR.
Falcons Remain in Playoff Hunt
Despite having a 5-8 record, the Falcons are not out of the hunt just yet.
Smith explained that the switch from Mariota to Ridder was a bit delayed as they’ve been just one game or so away from a post-season re-birth and making the change sooner could have potentially disrupted that path.
“You’re always looking at it. The last month or so we’ve been in plenty of close games and one of those things we need to see evolve in the passing game as we evolve this season,” Smith said. “I like the progress we’ve made in the running game. I think it’s something we think can benefit us, not only in the short term but in the long term. That’s what you’re evaluating.”
All eyes will be on Ridder, who we haven’t seen in action since the preseason, where he went 34-for-56 for 431 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed eight times for 58 yards.
With the Falcons having lost the last four out of five games, they’ll need to win out if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive and well.
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Falcons Plan to Place Marcus Mariota on Injured Reserve