Barring something unforeseen, the Falcons will not be switching back to Desmond Ridder at starting quarterback over the last three weeks of the season.
Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith said in his Wednesday press conference that Taylor Heinicke will start at QB for the rest of the season.
Ridder was previously benched for his performance midway through the season, but then the club had him back in the saddle as QB1. After Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, however, Atlanta is making a more permanent switch.
“Obviously Des came back a few weeks ago. Plan was to let him finish out the season. And that’s what the plan was. But you have to be willing to adapt,” Smith said, via Terrin Waack of the team’s website. “We feel right now, with where we’re at, that Taylor gives us the best chance. We have to adapt.”
Smith continued to talk about adapting when he confirmed that Heinicke would start the last three games.
“That’s the plan. But you have to be adaptable,” Smith said. “Look, if you don’t like the way something is going — maybe that’s offensively, maybe that’s special teams [or] defensively — that’s your job. There’s no perfect solution sometimes. And I take a lot of consideration and responsibility in this job because I think sometimes it’s easy to look like hey, let me blame something on this person or that person. There’s a lot that goes into it.”
Still, Smith is anticipating the offense will improve with Heinicke behind center.
“Taylor has had a lot of success in this league in big moments,” Smith said. “That’s why we signed him.”
Heinicke has completed 55.4 percent of his passes this season for 498 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
In 13 games with 12 starts, Ridder has completed 63.3 percent of his throws for 2,528 yards with 10 touchdowns and 10 picks.
At 6-8, the Falcons play the Colts, Bears, and Saints to end the regular season.