The future of Desmond Ridder as the Atlanta Falcons‘ starting quarterback is in limbo, and head coach Arthur Smith will be making a decision soon.

Ridder exited his team’s Week 8 loss to the Tennessee Titans because he was being evaluated for a concussion. He cleared concussion protocol, but did not return to the game, as Taylor Heinicke played out the rest of the afternoon in his stead.

Now, Ridder’s status for Week 9 is up in the air, and Smith said he will be making a determination on Wednesday as to who will be under center against the Minnesota Vikings.

“I’ve got to see where he (Ridder) is at,” Smith told reporters on Monday, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN. “That’s the best I can give you, but I have got to see where he’s at and see if that’s the best thing for this team this week. Obviously, it’s not something I’m concerned with long term. He’s done a lot of good things, but we have to find a way to go win this game. If it’s Taylor, that’s what we’ll do, but my concern is Des.”

Ridder went 8-for-12 with 71 yards and a fumble before leaving the game this past Sunday. He has now lost four fumbles over the last two weeks and six for the season as a whole.

On the year overall, Ridder has thrown for 1,701 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 65.4 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 84.

The 24-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Cincinnati, was selected by the Falcons in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

He made four starts during his rookie campaign, totaling 708 yards and a couple of touchdowns while completing 63.5 percent of his throws and registering a passer rating of 86.4.

Atlanta fell to 4-4 with its loss this past weekend, but it still sits in a first-place tie with the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South.

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