Desmond Ridder

It's Desmond Ridder's time. And the Atlanta Falcons have approached his rookie season as though that time would come this year.

"I'm prepared for this," Ridder told reporters on Wednesday. "This is what they've been preparing me for. They didn't want to baby me."

Marcus Mariota has been the starting quarterback up until this point, but head coach Arthur Smith chose to make the switch to Ridder during the bye, giving him an extra week to prepare as the starter for Sunday's matchup with the New Orleans Saints.

Ridder, 23, has yet to play at all in the regular season after being Atlanta's Round 3 pick in the 2022 NFL draft. But he's felt as though the team has been preparing him for the possibility of seeing the field at any moment.

"It means going about the game plan how a 12-year vet, an eight-year vet, whatever it may be," Ridder told reporters. "Not putting on a wristband, (but) making me memorize every single play call, all the ins and outs, all the checks, all the cadence, just taking it like I've been in the league for eight years (even though) I've been in the league for six months."

Amid reporters that Marcus Mariota left the Atlanta Falcons upon learning Desmond Ridder would be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season, head coach Arthur Smith addressed his status.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Smith said Mariota's decision to have knee surgery "had nothing to do with" the decision to play Ridder.

Josh Kendall of The Athletic reported the Falcons learned on Friday, one day after it was reported Ridder would take over at quarterback, that Mariota was going to step away from the team.

Smith confirmed the quarterback change on Monday, and told reporters the decision was "performance-based" due to Mariota's struggles.

During the same press conference, Smith said Mariota's knee was "nothing that has been an issue this season," but it was Mariota's "prerogative" to do what he felt was in his best interest.

Ridder was the second quarterback taken in the 2022 NFL draft. He was selected by the Falcons with the 74th overall pick. The 23-year-old was a two-time AAC Offensive Player of the Year winner at Cincinnati. He has yet to appear in a game this season.

The Falcons signed Mariota to a two-year contract as a free agent in March. He was named the team's starter early in training camp and has played each of the first 13 games this season.

Mariota has played okay in Smith's offense with 2,219 passing yards, 438 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns (15 passing, four rushing).

After scoring at least 23 points in each of their first four games, the Falcons have been held to fewer than 20 points in six of their past nine games.

Despite having a 5-8 record, the Falcons are only one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South. They will play the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome on Sunday.

When the Atlanta Falcons made the decision to give rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder a chance to start this week instead of veteran Marcus Mariota, they were reportedly unaware that Mariota would be out indefinitely.

According to The Athletic's Josh Kendall, Mariota is away to have a "chronic" knee issue evaluated, and the Falcons "don't know when or if" he will return to the team. Kendall added that Atlanta anticipates placing the signal-caller on injured reserve.

Mariota, who signed a two-year deal with the Falcons this offseason, started the first 13 games of the season. He threw for 167 yards, a touchdown and an interception in last Sunday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. At 5-8, Atlanta has a slim chance of making the playoffs, prompting the switch to Ridder during the team's bye last week.

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith acknowledged that not having Mariota as a safety net increases the risk that comes with starting a rookie quarterback. Smith said Mariota's knee "is nothing that has been an issue this season, but that's (Mariota's) prerogative so… Of course, you want all your guys to be here, but guys have to make decisions. It's part of professional sports. You have to have contingency plans."

Earlier this week, the Falcons signed quarterback Logan Woodside off the Tennessee Titans practice squad. The 2018 seventh-round pick will act as the backup to Ridder and is the most experienced quarterback on the roster now that Mariota is out, having attempted three passes in his NFL career.

Second-year player Feleipe Franks, who switched to tight end this offseason, will act as the emergency quarterback. The former Arkansas and Florida signal-caller attempted one pass as a rookie in 2021, and it was intercepted.

The Falcons will hope to see some promise from Ridder when he takes the field this Sunday against the New Orleans Saints (4-9).

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota will likely be placed on injured reserve with a knee injury, head coach Arthur Smith told reporters Monday.

The Falcons were already set to replace Mariota with rookie Desmond Ridder.

Mariota signed a two-year, $18.75 million deal with the Falcons during the offseason following a two-year stint with the Las Vegas Raiders.

In 13 games this season, he has completed 61.3 passes for 2,219 yards and 15 touchdowns against nine interceptions. He has also rushed for 438 yards and four scores.

The 2015 second overall pick said he signed with Atlanta because Smith told him he had an opportunity to start right away following the team's decision to trade Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts.

"It really came down to the opportunity," Mariota told reporters. "He said there's a chance for you to play, a chance for you to start right away. Really for me at this point in time in my career, that's what I was looking for."

Mariota appeared in 11 games with the Raiders but didn't make any starts, completing 18 of 30 passes for 230 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for 175 yards and two scores.

Before joining the Raiders, the 29-year-old spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. He was inconsistent during his time with the Titans and was labeled a draft bust.

That said, Mariota has dealt with injuries throughout his career. He missed four games during the 2015 season with a sprained MCL and one game in 2016 after breaking his fibula.

Mariota then missed one game in 2017 with a hamstring strain and two games in 2018 with a neck stinger and elbow sprain. He started six games in 2019 before being replaced by Ryan Tannehill.

He suffered a quad strain last year with the Raiders and was placed on injured reserve and missed five games.

Ridder was a third-round pick by the Falcons in the 2022 NFL draft. He spent his college career at Cincinnati, winning AAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021.

The Atlanta Falcons are reportedly using their Week 14 bye to usher in a quarterback change.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Falcons will bench Marcus Mariota and turn the offense over to rookie Desmond Ridder ahead of their Week 15 matchup with the rival New Orleans Saints.

Asking a rookie to make his first career start at the Superdome is a daunting proposition, but the Saints are just 4-9 on the season and largely playing out the string at this point.

The 5-8 Falcons may be doing the same, which is surely one reason they made this move. While Mariota has been a solid quarterback at times, he is not the future in Atlanta and is scheduled for free agency in 2024 with a potential out on his deal in 2023.

Ridder, whom the Falcons selected with a third-round pick in this year's draft, may be that future, and this is the beginning of the team's process toward figuring out whether that is the case.

While he slipped in the draft, the rookie helped the Cincinnati Bearcats become the first-ever Group of Five conference team to reach the College Football Playoff last season. He completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 3,334 yards, 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions in his final collegiate season.

Ridder also appeared in all three of the Falcons' preseason games and threw for a combined 331 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

It is easy to wonder about Ridder's upside and where Atlanta may be in the standings if it made this move earlier given the nature of the NFC South. The 6-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in first place, and the Falcons are technically still within striking distance considering their final game is a head-to-head matchup with Tom Brady and Co.

Mariota completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 2,219 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions while adding 438 yards and four scores on the ground.

The team's offense was largely conservative with him under center in an effort to avoid key mistakes, and it remains to be seen whether it will have the same approach with a rookie signal-caller.

But the future is now for the Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons selected Desmond Ridder with a third-round draft pick, but he looked worthy of a first-rounder during Monday's preseason game against the New York Jets.

While Ridder was inconsistent at just 10-of-22 passing in his first NFL action against the Detroit Lions, the quarterback who helped the Cincinnati Bearcats become the first Group of Five team to reach the College Football Playoff made obvious strides in his second game.

Ridder directed two drives that ended in field goals, going 7-of-7 for 68 yards on the first one and stringing multiple downfield throws together during the second one. The second drive may have ended in a touchdown if penalties hadn't derailed it.

In all, the rookie went 10-of-13 for 143 yards while mixing in some screens, slants and needle-threading throws.

His performance drew rave reviews from social media:

The Falcons already named Marcus Mariota the starter, and the Oregon product began Monday's game and connected with Olamide Zaccheaus for a touchdown. Yet Mariota is a familiar name with plenty of NFL experience, making Ridder more of a focal point during the preseason.

Atlanta may not miss a beat if it needs him to play during the regular season if Monday's performance was any indication.