The Atlanta Falcons are still looking for their new franchise quarterback, a quest that now falls on the shoulders of new head coach Raheem Morris.
At the NFL Scouting Combine Tuesday, Morris had a blunt assessment of the team’s quarterback play in 2023, which consisted of Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke sharing the starting role.
“If we had better quarterback play I may not be standing here at the podium,” Morris said, via Fan Nation’s Daniel Flick.
Ridder, the Falcons’ third-round pick in 2022, has not done much in his first two years to inspire belief that he’s the answer at the position.
He and Heinicke, a journeyman, are both under contract for 2024, but Atlanta is expected to pursue outside help, whether via trade, free agency or the NFL Draft.
“I don’t think you can lock yourself in to how that goes about,” Morris told CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones about the team’s pursuit of a QB. “Everybody wants a great quarterback. You don’t know how they come. They come in all forms, fashions, shapes. You want to go out and find the best quarterback that fits best with you and your people and how you’re building this team.”
Atlanta, which finished 7-10 in each of the last three seasons under Arthur Smith and has not posted a winning record since 2017, owns the eighth overall pick in this April’s draft.
That spot likely puts them outside of being able to land one of the “Big 3” of Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels, unless the team looks to explore trading up to get one of those signal callers.