5 more Atlanta Falcons who won't be back after the Desmond Ridder trade
- The Atlanta Falcons are making serious moves to upgrade their roster in NFL free agency.
- After signing Kirk Cousins , they traded Desmond Ridder to the Arizona Cardinals.
- Here are five more Falcons who are probably not going to be back with the team in 2024.
By John Buhler
4. Logan Woodside was another QB with an Arthur Smith connection
To be frank, I am not sold on any of holdovers at quarterback from the Arthur Smith era sticking in Atlanta. Where it stands now, I suspect that the Falcons will either have Taylor Heinicke serve as Cousins' backup, or release him for more cap space. Outside of that, I suspect that everyone else will be gone in the wake of the Desmond Ridder trade. That would include third-stringer Logan Woodside.
Woodside first got connected with Smith in Tennessee back in 2018. He played for him twice in Nashville before coming over to Atlanta in 2022. When asked to play, Woodside is a fine third-string quarterback, but whenever he is out there, his team is not winning games. You're not in Toledo anymore, man... I would think Atlanta would want to bring in a guy who already knows the system.
Anyone who has played for a Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan disciple could be in play for the Falcons. For the time being, I will give Heinicke a chance because he is a high-quality backup, a decent stop-gap starter and a future football coach. I would venture to guess that he would gel quite well being in the same quarterback room as Cousins. After all they have both experienced nonsense in Washington.
While Franks is absolutely gone, I have a hard time seeing Woodside sticking around for another year.