Falcons
Falcons QB Desmond Ridder takes comfort in knowing that team owner Arthur Blank is a believer in him.
“That’s comforting for me obviously knowing that Mr. Blank and everyone in the organization believes in me and my skill set,” Ridder said, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN. “At the end of the day, for myself, it’s about putting a higher expectation than even what they have for myself and going out and trying to exceed that and be better.”
Blank said the team believes Ridder can be their franchise quarterback.
“We feel pretty strongly that he’s going to be our quarterback in the future,” Blank said. “And we gotta play games and we gotta see. But we feel good about him.”
Falcons GM Terry Fontenot added that it’s not so much the end result with Ridder this season, but taking the next step forward in his development. Fontenot also said it was impressive to see Ridder handle adversity as a rookie.
“We saw him in critical moments, third down, fourth down, end of game end to half. And he was able to produce in those moments,” Fontenot said. “And also, Desmond, we saw him get knocked down. We saw him handle some adversity and we saw him respond to it. So, we believe in the makeup and the maturity, and then now we get into the offseason and it’s about improvement as opposed to the immediate result. It’s about the process of improvement and we’re process-oriented organization. So, he’s had a really good offseason and he’s working hard to improve in all areas.”
- Per Falcons HC Arthur Smith, CB Jeff Okudah received positive news during an MRI and has a chance to return to the lineup early in the season. (Jeremy Fowler)
- Smith on Okudah’s injury status: “Very positive news all things considered. We expect he’s got a great chance to be back really early part of the season.“ (Ian Rapoport)
Panthers
- The Athletic’s Joe Person still expects the Panthers to add another edge rusher to start across from OLB Brian Burns, potentially in the next week or two. However, they will be conscious of the price.
- Some of the top options Person lists include Justin Houston, Jadeveon Clowney, Melvin Ingram, Robert Quinn, Carlos Dunlap, Bruce Irvin or Mario Addison.
- Person mentions the Panthers will get an up-close look at Jets DE Bryce Huff during joint practices ahead of the preseason game between the two squads. New York is deep at defensive end and Huff is someone who has drawn trade calls in the past.
- Panthers G Austin Corbett is “ahead of schedule” in his rehab of a torn ACL, per HC Frank Reich, but still won’t be ready for Week 1. (Darin Gantt)
Saints
Saints WR Michael Thomas said QB Derek Carr is exactly what the team was looking for in a quarterback.
“(Carr) looked tremendous,” Thomas said, via NFL.com. “He’s exactly what we needed as a leader, as a quarterback, as a signal-caller. He’s dialed in every day. He comes out here, he competes, he wants to get better, he puts the onus on himself, and we all lean on him and we all look for his advice.”
Thomas added that he played a role this offseason in helping recruit Carr to New Orleans.
“We just had real honest conversations, just letting him know that if he came to play, we will put the onus on us as an offense to get him to where he wants to go and allow him to chase his dream,” Thomas said. “Ultimately, he wants to win a Super Bowl and wants to be a Hall of Famer and be that top quarterback in this league. So, he has to have the right supporting cast to be able to do that. I just told him how close our group was as a receiver group, how much talent we have and how, if we plug him in, how much success we can create. I know he was kind of talking to other teams. I probably said some other stuff to him, but it worked.”
- Saints HC Dennis Allen said Jon Gruden will be attending practices for three days. He will just be observing and won’t have a defined role. (Greg Auman)
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