The Atlanta Falcons tried rolling with Desmond Ridder at quarterback this past season. It did not work out, and it ultimately cost Arthur Smith his job as head coach.

Now, Raheem Morris has stepped into Smith’s role, and he seemed to take a shot at Ridder while at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday.

“If we had better quarterback play, I’m probably not standing here at this podium,” Morris said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

In other words, if Ridder would have played better in 2023, Smith may have kept his job.

Perhaps Morris didn’t intend to rip Ridder with that comment, but the remark certainly demonstrates where Morris stands with the club’s situation under center going into 2024.

As for who Morris prefers to have at signal-caller next season? He isn’t saying just yet, but he promises that the Falcons will leave no stone unturned.

“I won’t bring up names,” Morris said. “But when you’re going through the process you have everything open. We’ve got so many avenues right now because we have free agency money, we have the ability to trade, whether it be trade for a player with a team, or be it trade up or back in the draft. It’s just really about the different scenarios you want to have at the quarterback position.”

Atlanta certainly has plenty of options going into the offseason.

It can sign a free agent, it can explore a trade or it can utilize the NFL Draft to select its quarterback of the future. The Falcons own the eighth pick of the draft in April, so while they won’t be able to take USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye (barring a trade), they may have the opportunity to draft LSU’s Jayden Daniels.

Whatever Atlanta decides to do at quarterback for next season, one thing is for sure: Desmond Ridder certainly won’t be taking snaps.

The Falcons went 7-10 this past year and have not made the playoffs since the 2017-18 campaign.

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