On Sunday, Falcons starting quarterback Desmond Ridder sat out the second half and was replaced by Taylor Heinicke. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith isn’t ready to say which one of them will start this week against the Vikings.
Asked today about the Falcons’ plan going forward, Smith said he’ll announce on Wednesday who his starter is against Minnesota.
“I promise you, I’ll come in on Wednesday and tell you who’s starting,” Smith said, via Tori McElhaney of the Falcons.
Asked if Ridder would start assuming he’s 100 percent healthy, Smith answered, “I have to see where he’s at.”
But Smith did make clear that he wants the Falcons to have a good week of practice with their starting quarterback running the first string offense.
“Whoever is going to play this week has got to get the reps,” Smith said.
Heinicke came off the bench and played better than Ridder did, which would seem to indicate that Heinicke also gives the Falcons the better chance to beat the Vikings on Sunday. But Smith has invested a lot of time in developing Ridder and has indicated that he believes in Ridder going forward, and he may not be ready to bench his young quarterback just yet.
