It is not a secret that the Atlanta Falcons are in desperate need of a quarterback. However, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke surely did not appreciate how their new head coach addressed their play at the NFL Combine on Tuesday.
They caught a vicious stray from Raheem Morris. And it wasn’t even really a stray.
The 47-year-old absolutely torched both of his team’s incumbent quarterbacks.
Morris was named as Arthur Smith’s successor on Jan. 25, 2024 after spending the last three seasons as the defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams. He is very familiar with the organization, having been in Atlanta from 2015-2020, but the roster looks very different today.
Quarterback is perhaps the most glaring change. Matt Ryan is gone and the Falcons scrambled to find his replacement in each of the last two off-seasons to no avail. Marcus Mariota did not work out. Ridder, a third-round pick out of Cincinnati, has not been able to figure it out. Heinicke is a great backup.
Thus, Morris and the front officehave a decision to make.
Who is going to play quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons?
General manager Terry Fontenot said that finding Atlanta’s next signal-caller is a “top priority” this offseason. The Falcons will presumably draft a rookie in the first three rounds at No. 8, No. 43, No. 74 or No. 79.
Morris is in Indianapolis to evaluate the class of incoming quarterbacks. He made it abundantly clear that neither Ridder nor Heinicke is the guy moving forward by saying that he might not have been hired as the head coach if either of those two were able to play better and save Smith’s job.
Raheem Morris absolutely cooked both of his returning quarterbacks. They certainly did not love to hear what their coach had to say while chilling at home and getting ready for next NFL season. He did not hold back!
Mic drop.