Falcons' Arthur Smith Reveals Why Desmond Ridder Sat in Preseason Finale

The Atlanta Falcons capped off the preseason against the Pittsburgh Steelers without an appearance from starting quarterback Desmond Ridder.

With preseason in the rearview mirror for the Atlanta Falcons, they won't take long to turn the page and begin preparations for the season-opener versus the Carolina Panthers. 

When the Falcons and starting quarterback Desmond Ridder take the field on Sunday, Sept. 10, he will do so after only playing one drive in the preseason, which for a second-year signal-caller who only has four prior NFL starts under his belt isn't much. 

For comparison, Washington Commanders second-year quarterback Sam Howell started in just one game last season but featured in two of their three games this preseason.

So why did the Falcons ultimately decide that Ridder's one drive against the Cincinnati Bengals was enough heading into his fifth career start? 

"If I was really concerned about Des, then he would've been out there. There's no perfect answer," Falcons coach Arthur Smith said in a recent press conference on the lack of playing time for Ridder this preseason. "If you look at all the answers year in and year out, we needed to get live reps, joint practice — that’s another subjective debate but we feel pretty good there. You take it all into consideration.

"Certainly, if we felt that he wasn’t [ready] or we felt that there was some perfect blueprint, then we would've followed that. We take it all into consideration and we feel pretty good about where he's at."

The Falcons won't really know if their plan was the right one until the conclusion of the season-opener. However, Ridder's performance against the Bengals was a promising one, despite what the box score says. 

The second-year signal-caller completed seven of his nine passes for 80 yards before his final pass, intended for Scotty Miller, bounced off his hands and into the grasps of Bengals edge rusher Joseph Ossai for the interception.

If it weren't for five penalties and the unlucky interception, the Falcons could've capitalized on Ridder's strong showing with a touchdown.

Yet, Smith decided that instead of letting Ridder and the starting offense redeem themself against the Pittsburgh Steelers, they would save it for the season opener against the Panthers. 

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