Falcons QB Taylor Heinicke 'Great' for Desmond Ridder Development
When the Atlanta Falcons signed Taylor Heinicke to a two-year, $20 million contract this offseason, the former Washington Commanders starter knew he would be brought in as a mentor and safety blanket for 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder.
Ridder is set to start for the Falcons this season, a job that Heinicke has helped him prepare for.
“Taylor’s been a great guy for me," Ridder said. "Both Taylor and Logan [Woodside]. Both guys have been able to come in - Logan the last four games and Taylor this offseason. We've been nothing but great to each other, bouncing off ideas to each other, being able to work off each other."
While Ridder and Heinicke are technically "competing" for the starting job, it's clear that the second-year pro will get the first shot to prove himself. However, in this "competition," both guys are working towards the same goal.
"When you talk about competition, obviously, there's only one person that can play this position on the field at one time," Ridder said. "So we know that in this job, in this profession, every job is a competition. But what we like to call it is a healthy competition. No one’s rooting each other down or rooting each other up, whatever it may be, but rather building everyone up together just because like we say, ‘Iron sharpens iron.’ It's going to make all three of us better.”
Ridder, Heinicke and the Falcons will have one more chance to compete in the preseason against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.
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