Falcons' Arthur Smith Reveals Further Confidence in Desmond Ridder

The Atlanta Falcons continue to exude confidence in starting quarterback Desmond Ridder ahead of their season opener against the Carolina Panthers.

Desmond Ridder will be the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in their season opener against the Carolina Panthers for the first time in his career. 

This time a year ago, Ridder was preparing to be the backup quarterback behind Marcus Mariota, where he'd watch from the sidelines for the first 13 games before getting his chance to start. 

Those four games Ridder started last season could be a big difference for him this season, as he already knows what to expect. Combine that with the full offseason of work as the starting quarterback, the Falcons have tried to set him up for success. 

"I feel pretty good about it," Falcons coach Arthur Smith said about his feeling on Ridder heading into Sunday's game. "[He’s] another guy that's taking a lot of reps at quarterback, and that experience last year paid off. There's always excitement unknown going into Week 1, but when you've at least had some experience and get back into it, then you feel pretty good. We got him some action in the preseason, tried to make camp hard for him, but feel pretty pleased where he's at."

Despite only having four career starts under his belt, the Falcons decided not to give Ridder many reps in the preseason. The second-year signal-caller played just one drive against the Cincinnati Bengals before returning to the sidelines to watch.  

The Falcons' preseason plan for Ridder was much different than what the Washington Commanders did with fellow second-year quarterback Sam Howell, who played two of their preseason games after starting in their final regular season game last year. 

Yet, the severely limited snaps in the preseason were later revealed by Smith to be another sign of confidence from the Falcons. 

"If I was really concerned about Des, then he would've been out there. There's no perfect answer," Smith said after the preseason finale loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The Falcons will play host to the Panthers on Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.