After enduring a season in which Marcus Mariota alternated between Mike Vick and Mike White, the thought of a gritty backup QB taking the reins just felt right. I mean, nobody enjoys a 7 yr vet throwing a football off his right buttock more than me, but I think collectively as a fan base we decided it was time to move on.

In comes Desmond Ridder… A combination of trash and brilliance. Those last four games left as all arguing about his ceiling and his floor, which ironically exist on the same plane. Then, the offseason confirmation that Dez is our QB1, and there is no competition. Feeling hopeful. This coaching staff sees something in him that we don’t see.

Regression with flashes of brilliance. Again, we see something that makes us feel optimistic, but then the floor drops from beneath our feet. Holding the ball too long, throwing interceptions, fumbles. We won a game where we turned the ball over… oh forget it, It doesn't matter.

Implosion… Ridder can’t take care of the ball. In comes Heinecke, a flashy yet familiar cubic zirconia. The ball comes out faster, we look more efficient, but we still lose. I find myself wondering if we had just stuck with Ridder, if we could have mustered the win.

A new QB1 is named. This is where my personal story begins. I can barely summon the enthusiasm to watch this game. This dude is not the QB of our future. How did we lose to Josh Dobbs and the 5 mins he spent with that team, and then the 1-8 Arizona Cardinals. Honestly, Ridder is the only reason we had a chance in that AZ game, and I was genuinely excited when he came in.

And here we are. Bye week. Bye season. There’s no way we can move forward with Heinceke. I know Ridder’s not gonna figure it out, but at least there’s hope with him. So that’s my pick. Let’s Roll with Ridder, and figure it out in 2024.