Falcons averse to Heinicke-Ridder ‘musical chairs’

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons will be starting Taylor Heinicke against the Arizona Cardinals this week, but coach Arthur Smith made it clear he’s not interested in the decision about who starts at quarterback becoming a weekly topic of conversation.

“We’re not going to play musical chairs,” Smith said Wednesday. “Hopefully we can go get this win. Take a second to really evaluate as we make that sprint towards the end of the season. “That’s the best I can give you right now.”

Barring something unforeseen, Smith said he and the staff will evaluate what they’ve seen from Heinicke versus what Desmond Ridder provided over the first eight weeks and then make a decision from there. Atlanta has a bye in Week 11.

Ridder completed 65.4% of his passes for 1,701 yards, 6 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and 6 fumbles lost. The Falcons turned to Heinicke at halftime against Tennessee, with Ridder being evaluated for a potential concussion (he was eventually cleared).

Atlanta then chose to start Heinicke last week against Minnesota — making it clear at the time that it was for “this week” and then they would reassess. At the time, Smith and offensive coordinator Dave Ragone said there were a “lot of variables” going into the decision to start Heinicke.

Ridder, when he spoke, pointed to ball security — he had seven turnovers in 2½ games, including four in the red zone — and said he would use the time to work on fixing that. He didn’t indicate last week when — or if — he might reclaim the starting job.

Heinicke has completed 55.9% of his passes over the past six quarters for 443 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. In the six quarters he has played, Atlanta has scored 48 points — including a season-high 28 vs. the Vikings this past Sunday.

Smith said this year’s quarterback movement is different from last year, when the team moved from Marcus Mariota to Ridder at the team’s bye in December. Now, after Sunday’s game against Arizona, they’ll be looking at the quarterback position in the off week for the second straight season.

“There’s so many things that go into it,” Smith said. “It’s not all on the quarterback, and sometimes it’s the matchups, it’s the way things are trending. But I think in the end, it’ll all work itself out the way it should.”