Falcons HC Arthur Smith said Monday that he plans to go with QB Desmond Ridder as the starter the rest of the season, according to ESPN's Michael Rothstein. That aligns with reports on Smith's plans from before he announced the switch back at QB. Neither Atlanta QB has played well for a meaningful stretch this season. So this situation likely doesn't mean a lot for fantasy impact. We'll see whether Falcons coaches succeeded in correcting Ridder's pitfalls while he was out of the lineup.

The Falcons will start QB Desmond Ridder vs. the Saints in Week 12, according to NFL Network. QB Taylor Heinicke didn't prove to be an upgrade over the last three games, completing just 55% of his passes at 6.7 yards per attempt. So Atlanta will go back to Ridder, who's registered a 65% completion rate and 7.1 yards per attempt this season. "The Falcons believed the bulk of Ridder's mistakes were correctable & felt he had a lot of learning to do," NFL Network's James Palmer tweeted. "A move back to him was always planned unless Taylor Heinicke went on a ridiculous run. It wasn't like they fell out of love with Ridder. Needed a reset." Ridder sat 18th among QBs in fantasy points through Week 7 and will return as a mid-range QB2. The Falcons have the ninth-toughest remaining QB schedule, although there are positive matchups vs. the Colts and Bears in Weeks 16 and 17.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith said Monday that he'll wait until after the Week 11 bye to name a starting QB going forward. QB Taylor Heinicke struggled in the loss to the Cardinals before exiting early in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury. QB Desmond Ridder went four of six for 39 yards and scored a nine-yard rushing TD over the final 14 minutes. Smith praised Ridder's play in his Monday press conference, so our guess is that he'll be back under center come Week 12. But we'll let you know what Smith makes an announcement next week.

Falcons QB Taylor Heinicke suffered a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Cardinals. He's remained on the sidelines but doesn't have his helmet. Heinicke is officially questionable to return but seems unlikely to do so. He's been replaced by QB Desmond Ridder.

Update: Heinicke has been ruled out.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith announced Monday that QB Taylor Heinicke will start again Sunday against Arizona. It's not a surprise. Heinicke played just OK in the Week 9 loss to the Vikings, completing 55.2% of his passes for 268 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. His lone score came on a short throw that TE Jonnu Smith took 60 yards for the TD. Heinicke looks interesting for Week 10, though, if you need a streaming QB. He'll face a Cardinals defense that has been sixth most friendly to QB scoring by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Arizona also ranks just 31st in pass-defense DVOA. Check back Tuesday afternoon (and beyond) to see where Heinicke settles in our Week 10 QB rankings. QB Desmond Ridder does remain stashable in superflex leagues -- if you can afford the spot. Heinicke's no lock to keep the job the rest of the way if his coach is announcing the starter one week at a time.

Falcons QB Taylor Heinicke completed 21 of 38 passes for 268 yards with 1 TD and INT apiece in Week 9 vs. the Vikings. His 14.7 fantasy points in this contest aren’t remarkable, though they were passable enough to finish as a high-end QB2 this week. Between 2021-22, Heinicke averaged 13.5 fantasy points per game in 25 games played with the Commanders, so these are the sorts of results that are reasonable for fantasy managers to expect. Next week, he’ll face a Cardinals defense that ranks as the sixth-easiest matchup for QBs per our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Heinicke will be in the deep-league streaming discussion for Week 10.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith announced Wednesday that QB Taylor Heinicke will start Sunday against the Vikings. It's not a shocking move after the team pulled QB Desmond Ridder from the Week 8 loss to the Titans. Ridder has largely struggled outside of a 329-yard passing effort in the Week 5 win over Houston. Since that game, he has tossed just 2 TD passes vs. 3 INTs across three contests, while also taking a sack on nearly 10% of dropbacks and losing 4 fumbles. Heinicke went an OK 12-of-21 (57.1%) for 175 yards (8.3 per attempt) after taking over against Tennessee. His 9.7 average target depth in that contest -- according to Pro Football Refernce -- was about 2 yards deeper than Ridder's season rate of 7.8. Pro Football Focus credits Heinicke with a career 8.8-yard average depth of target and 9.2-yard aDOT with the Commanders last season. Heinicke's career 63.7% completion rate comes in short of Ridder's (64.8%), and we've seen enough to know he won't bring consistent efficiency. But a daring downfield thrower could boost the fantasy production of Falcons WR Drake London and TE Kyle Pitts ... if Arthur Smith will allow the offense to exploit those skills. (And assuming London's groin injury doesn't linger, of course.) We're not significantly upgrading our outlooks for any Falcons offensive pieces on this switch. But a move away from Ridder at least allows for some optimism. We'll see whether London's able to play this week -- and then how Heinicke fares in his first Atlanta start. The Minnesota matchup looks fairly neutral for Falcons passing.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith said after Sunday's loss to the Titans that QB Desmond Ridder wasn't removed from the game for "performance issues." It's unclear exactly what that means. Ridder was reportedly evaluated for a concussion but was cleared to return. No other injury was announced. “We've got a lot of confidence in Des," Smith added. We'll keep an eye on the situation this coming week. QB Taylor Heinicke played well in the second half today, completing 12 of 21 passes for 175 yards, one TDs, and 0 INTs.

Falcons QB Desmond Ridder was benched at halftime of Sunday's game vs. the Titans. He was evaluated for a concussion but cleared, per Tori McElhaney of the team's website. Ridder went 8-of-12 for 71 scoreless yards in the first half. He's been replaced by QB Taylor Heinicke. We'll see how he fares and who Atlanta rolls with under center in Week 9 and beyond.

Falcons QB Desmond Ridder has teammates fired up about his leadership heading into his second season. “When he talks, you listen,” TE Jonnu Smith told The Athletic. “Having leadership qualities is the most important trait you should have as a quarterback. He has that. He’s been coming in here and working his butt off. I have nothing but great things to say about Desmond.” Those words come from a seventh-year veteran heading into his age-28 season and in his first offseason with the Falcons. Others had similar praise for Ridder, who has not only led on-field work but reportedly been organizing events with teammates away from the field. All of this could mean nothing for his in-game performance. And Taylor Heinicke stands in wait as Ridder insurance. But all signs point to the Falcons hoping that Ridder will be their guy for at least the near future. He’s a fine late shot to take in superflex drafts. Check out his spot in our superflex rankings.

When asked about the team's QB situation on Tuesday, Falcons HC Arthur Smith shared the plan is for Desmond Ridder to open training camp as the starter. Smith also spoke about QB Taylor Heinicke, the former Commanders signal-caller who inked a two-year deal with the Falcons in free agency. "The chemistry in the quarterback room is important, as we expect Desmond to take the next step," said Smith. "But we also have [Heinicke] who can go in and win you football games and be ready to play." Reading between the lines a little bit, it sounds as though this could be a camp battle in which Heinicke would have an opportunity to win the job if Ridder slips. That said, we can't put too much stock into vague statements like this in late March. We'll surely have our attention on this situation should it evolve into something more into the summer. If nothing else, dynasty managers could consider throwing out some feelers to acquire Heinicke on the cheap in superflex leagues, but that's about all there is here.

New Falcons QB Taylor Heinicke told reporters on Thursday that his goal is to be "the best backup I can be to Desmond [Ridder]." "They drafted (Ridder) high for a reason," Heinicke added. So that puts to bed any notion of a true QB competition in Atlanta. Of course, there's a chance that Ridder falters and gives way to Heinicke at some point in 2023. But Ridder is the Falcons QB to consider late in fantasy football drafts.

The Falcons have agreed to a two-year deal with QB Taylor Heinicke that could pay as much as $20 million, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. That likely means Heinicke will get significant salary escalators if he winds up starting a bunch of games. More importantly, though, this might be the clearest signal that Atlanta expects to have QB Desmond Ridder starting Week 1 of 2023. The Falcons now have two QBs with NFL starting experience rostered, still more than a month ahead of the NFL Draft. We doubt this excludes the franchise from taking a QB in Round 1 of the draft, if the Falcons like a guy who gets to them. But don't bet on them angling to move up for any QB prospect. Ridder obviously has plenty to prove after just four rookie-year starts. And Heinicke looks like a two-year insurance policy. But Ridder has also been going plenty late enough in best ball ADP so far to be worth selecting as a QB3.

Commanders HC Ron Rivera announced rookie QB Sam Howell as the Week 18 starter vs. Dallas. It’ll be the 5th-round pick’s first career start. Howell's a poor bet to perform as a useful QB2, but take note that he posted 828 rushing yards -- 69 per game -- in his final season at UNC.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that the Commanders are expected to start QB Taylor Heinicke against Dallas in the season finale. But he adds that rookie QB Sam Howell "is also slated to play." Take this news as an admission from HC Ron Rivera that he was wrong to start Carson Wentz in the Week 17 loss to Cleveland. With Washington now eliminated from playoff contention, though, it would seem to make more sense to just play the rookie the whole way. The reported plan, of course, makes both QBs unusable in fantasy football lineups. And the whole situation adds risk to Washington pass-catchers. We're not changing our outlook for RB Brian Robinson Jr., though. Check out the adjusted Week 18 fantasy football rankings.