Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank Appears To Take Shot At Marcus Mariota While Praising Desmond Ridder

The Atlanta Falcons have to decide what they will do at quarterback moving forward. 2022 third-round NFL Draft pick Desmond Ridder is set to return after starting four games last season, but everything else is up in the air.

Marcus Mariota is under contract, but he was benched last season and it seems as though the team is looking to move on. As a result, General manager Terry Fontenot said recently that the team will have to look for additions to the quarterback room.

It has a lot of cap room to go and sign a free agent, as well as the eighth pick in the draft. The Falcons could choose to bring in a veteran, use its first rounder to take one of the signal-callers in this year's class, or use the pick (and Mariota?) in a trade.

All options are on the table for the Falcons, including Ridder.

Owner Arthur Blank said this week that he "loves his young quarterback." In doing so, he appeared to take a shot at Mariota.

I know he only played four games but the trend line during those four games was all good. He didn’t throw the ball to the other team which is a huge factor in winning games. He’s not color blind, so I feel good about where we are and I think our fans should feel that way, honestly.

For Blank to say that Ridder isn't "color blind" feels like a jab at the man he replaced. Mariota had multiple games in 2022 where he struggled with interceptions.

His worst pick happened on a Thursday night in November.

Mariota threw nine interceptions in 13 games. Ridder didn't throw an interception in four games.

Blank seemingly used the difference in stat lines to make it clear where he stands!