Falcons owner Arthur Blank sounds all-in on Desmond Ridder

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank expects second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder to make a big leap this season now that he's the team's starter during training camp. 

"I like our young quarterback," Blank said about Ridder on Tuesday, per Nick Shook of the NFL's website. "People look at just the last four games last year and they say, well, based on those four games, but he really progressed from the time he came on campus here after he was drafted, had a good camp, and he's been a strong leader since he's shown up here. Continued to develop."

The Falcons grabbed Ridder via a third-round pick during the 2022 NFL Draft and then stashed him beneath Marcus Mariota on the depth chart for the majority of the 23-year-old's rookie season. In total, Ridder tallied a 2-2 record as a starter during his debut pro campaign and completed 73-of-115 passes (63.5%) for 708 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. 

In March, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith declared Ridder would begin offseason workouts as the team's QB1 even though Atlanta had been linked in multiple reports with Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson. Blank suggested Ridder's improvement as a rookie prevented the franchise from going all-in on an established signal-caller. 

"As the year progressed, he had an opportunity to play, and I think he played at a very competitive level," Blank continued about Ridder. "Those last four games each game seemed to be a little bit better. So, we feel pretty strongly that he's going to be our quarterback of the future. We've got to play games and we've got to see, but we feel good about him."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South title last season with a record of 8-9. At the start of August, OddsChecker listed the Falcons as second among betting favorites at +240 to claim the division crown in 2023. 

"Everybody says, well it's one of the weakest divisions," Blank added about the NFC South. "But 22 years owning a team in the NFL, you realize that divisions that start out apparently not so strong end up, by the end of the year, being very strong. There's gonna be a lot of competition, but I feel good about where we are."