Falcons' Ridder thrilled with owner backing him as QB of future

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder is grateful owner Arthur Blank said the organization "feels pretty strongly that he's gonna be our quarterback in the future," according to Mike Rothstein of ESPN.

"That's comforting for me, obviously, knowing that Mr. Blank and everyone in the organization believes in me and my skill set," Ridder said Wednesday.

"At the end of the day, for myself, it's about putting a higher expectation than even what they have for myself and going out and trying to exceed that and be better."

The 23-year-old enters training camp as Atlanta's clear-cut starting quarterback. The team signed former Washington Commanders signal-caller Taylor Heinicke to be his backup.

Ridder started four games last season, completing 73 passes for 708 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions. His passer rating improved each game he started, finishing with a 108.2 rating in the Falcons' Week 18 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"We saw him in critical moments, third down, fourth down, end of game, end to half. And he was able to produce in those moments," Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said.

He added: "We saw him handle some adversity, and we saw him respond to it. So we believe in the makeup and the maturity, and then now we get into the offseason and it's about improvement as opposed to the immediate result."

Ridder went 2-2 in his four starts last campaign.

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