Atlanta Falcons HC Arthur Smith: Desmond Ridder 'Took A Good Step' In Second NFL Start

The rookie passer is finding his way as he prepares for the Arizona Cardinals.

CINCINNATI — Bearcats legend Desmond Ridder has been up and down in his opening two NFL starts, but the door is still open for him to be the Falcons' quarterback of the future.

Head coach Arthur Smith broke down what he's liked from Ridder during his weekly press conference and more importantly, what he needs to show to keep the job in 2023.

"Just another step," Smith said about what Ridder has to do in the final two games. "I thought he took a good step (against Baltimore). Thrown into the fire—go down to New Orleans, play a veteran defense, thought he handled some situations. We had more success through the air Saturday in Baltimore against another really good defense that puts a lot of pre-snap stress on you, and I thought he handled that well for a young player and he got more comfortable in the pocket. I think we need another step here, and ultimately we need another step in the win, too. As long as he keeps making this progress, I think that's a good sign."

Ridder had a rough debut, finishing 13 of 26 passing for 97 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions along with 38 rushing yards on the ground against one of the league's better pass defenses in New Orleans.

This past week was better. Ridder went 22 of 33 passing for 218 yards against Baltimore (the third-highest mark Atlanta's thrown for in 2022).

"You're trying to build a culture of winning the right way," Smith said. "We've been in a lot of close games with a young team, and been charging back, but we haven't gotten over the hump in the last four games. We need to do that—Desmond Ridder needs to go in there, we need to go win a football game, those are important, especially if he's going to be the quarterback of the future."

Atlanta currently holds the sixth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, an awkward draft spot for a team that may want to draft another signal-caller to compete with Ridder.

It's up to the Cincinnati product to let his play give Atlanta confidence they can take QB off of their draft board.

"We'll see how we are in a couple weeks," Smith said about the quarterback situation. "We have a whole year with him, and we've been pleased up to this point ... (Quarterback of the future) is a huge question - Desmond's done a lot of good things. He's out there, and we're excited to see what kind of step he takes from his second start to his third."

Next up is former teammate Myjai Sanders and the Cardinals on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

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