The Atlanta Falcons have had zero stability at the quarterback position since an ill-fated decision to push out franchise legend Matt Ryan. Not allowing Ryan to play out the final years of his deal led to years of Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, and Taylor Heinicke. As if this wasn't misery enough, the Falcons would spend top dollar on Kirk Cousins only to watch the veteran have the worst stretch of his career and implode the 2024 season. Some might argue that this was karma for how the franchise treated Ryan in its attempt to land current Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. Regardless, there has been no shortage of frustration and misery at the position.
Michael Penix Jr. looks to change this in the 2025 season and has given every indication that this will be the case. Falcons' fans finally have a legitimate reason to believe the misery at the position has reached an end. No player better represents this frustration than former starter and current free agent Desmond Ridder. The former Falcon continues to search for a free agency landing spot after a failed stint with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Former Falcons Starter Desmond Ridder Remains a Free Agent
The fact that Ridder is struggling to find a landing spot doesn't come as a surprise despite his starting experience. It is hard to erase the memories of the mind-numbing turnovers and missed throws that Ridder displayed both with Atlanta and in his short time with the Raiders. While all the needed physical tools to be a backup are present, Ridder lacks the most important trait of all.
Ridder's downfall in Atlanta and what is keeping the quarterback from making another roster is his decision-making. The quarterback sees the field far too slowly and often makes the right read after it is far too late. This isn't something that teams can easily fix, even for a quarterback in a depth role. It is far more enticing to add an unknown project quarterback than a former starter who has proven to be extremely unreliable.
With this in mind, it wouldn't be shocking if this is the end of Ridder's time in the league. The only option to continue his career will be joining a team in training camp and working his way into an emergency quarterback role. This speaks to where his career has gone and how confusing it continues to be that Ridder was in Atlanta's building for over a year and still labeled a franchise option.