Falcons
Falcons HC Arthur Smith said they plan on Desmond Ridder being their starting quarterback for 2023.
“The plan is to start Desmond,” Smith said, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN. “That’s our plan going forward right now.”
Falcons’ recently signed QB Taylor Heinicke hopes to be a good mentor to Ridder similar to how Shaun Hill helped him earlier in his career.
“As a young guy coming into this league, there’s a lot thrown at you from every direction and it’s hard to kind of balance whatever is going on,” Heinicke said. “Shaun was a great mentor for me, helped me through that process and I hope to be the same to Desmond. If he needs anything from me or anything I can help him with, excited to work with him.”
- ECU RB Keaton Mitchell told reporters at his pro day that he has visits with the Falcons, Jets, Lions, and Packers (Billy Marshall)
Panthers
Jaguars HC Doug Pederson believes Panthers HC Frank Reich will be a great coach for a rookie quarterback.
“His demeanor,” Pederson said, via Carolina’s team website. “He’s played the position; he knows how it operates. He’s a quarterback mind. And he’s wired the right way. Having played quarterback in this league as he has, all of those things. I saw that with Carson Wentz when we drafted Carson, and Frank was with him for two years, and I saw what he did with Carson. He’s just the right guy. He’s the right guy for any young quarterback if they elect to go quarterback. He’ll pour everything he knows into that person, and they’ll have success.”
Bengals HC Zac Taylor believes the Panthers got a great player in S Vonn Bell.
“A consistent player, who’s going to show up and be the same guy every single day,” Taylor said. “He’s been a winner on every team he’s ever been on. They’re getting a high-character player at safety.
“He’s going to help those guys grow around him,” Taylor added. “But he made a lot of plays. He was a big part of about every play we made two years ago in that championship run, made a lot of plays for us this year, a lot of interceptions, and forced fumbles. He’s a good tone-setter. He’s a great player.”
- Mississippi RB Zach Evans has multiple upcoming visits including with the Cowboys and Panthers. (Aaron Wilson)
Saints
Saints HC Dennis Allen said they plan on being patient with WR Michael Thomas‘ recovery from a toe injury but they “feel good” about where Thomas is at.
“He’s not 100 percent. We’re going to be cautious with it and take our time. We don’t want to put him out there until he’s 100 percent. I expect him to be fully healthy and ready to go. When that point in time is, I don’t want to get into those speculations,” Allen said, via SaintsWire. “But yeah, we feel good where he’s at.”
- The Saints recently had a private meeting with Purdue QB Aidan O’Connell, according to Tom Pelissero.
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