Friday, Oct. 25, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Fourteen months ago, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank declared Desmond Ridder his franchise’s “quarterback of the future.”
All signs pointed towards the 2022 third-round pick out of the University of Cincinnati spending at least the next several years in the South.
He’s now moved twice since then, landing in Las Vegas earlier this week when the Raiders claimed him off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad as a result of Aidan O’Connell suffering a broken thumb.
“It’s just the nature of our job, the nature of our profession,” Ridder said. “That’s what we’ve got to do.”
The NFL moves fast, especially for players at the end of rosters, and no one has lived that reality better than Ridder recently. The 25-year-old was back home in Louisville, Ky., last weekend expecting to fly back out to Phoenix for the Cardinals’ Monday Night Football game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Instead, he’ll be active for the next NFL game he attends when the Raiders (2-5) take on the Kansas City Chiefs (6-0) at 1:25 p.m. Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.
Ridder ended up getting several extra hours with his wife and two children before he started packing up for a flight to Las Vegas late Monday night.
“My (three-year-old) daughter is like, ‘Daddy, where are you going?’” Ridder recounted while getting choked up. “I’m like, ‘I gotta go to Vegas.’ But I know I do everything for them. I do everything for my family so this is just another opportunity to go out and prove to them, prove to myself, prove to everyone that I can be out there and do this.”
Ridder believes he’s an NFL starting-caliber quarterback, but his first two teams decided he wasn’t even backup-worthy since the end of last season.
He never lived up to Blank’s optimism last year, getting benched midseason before eventually taking back over and finishing with a 6-7 record as a starter with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Seeking an upgrade, Atlanta signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency and shipped Ridder to Arizona in a trade. Ridder was tabbed to serve as Kyler Murray’s backup but was beaten out by 2023 fifth-round pick Clayton Tune in training camp.
The Cardinals released Ridder on roster cut day before re-signing him to the practice squad.
“I was just cut three months ago, that should be enough motivation to keep me going any time,” Ridder said.
The Raiders still saw something in Ridder, who most famously led Cincinnati to an undefeated regular season and College Football Playoff berth in his final collegiate season.
Raiders coach Antonio Pierce compared Ridder to O’Connell in that they were both young quarterbacks, “thrown in to the fire,” potentially before they were ready.
Ridder said the Raiders’ Luke Getsy-coordinated offense wasn’t all that different from the systems he learned with the Cardinals and Falcons, so schematic fit may have also played a role.
“Fortunately, he’s got a little bit of a background in terminology and everything,” Getsy said. “So, I think that part of it he’s handling really well so far. You want to make sure he’s ready to rock and roll for Sunday if his name gets called.”
Getsy was already confident enough to share plans to make Ridder the Raiders’ backup quarterback against the Chiefs — undrafted free agent/practice squad player Carter Bradley is the only other quarterback on the roster.
He wouldn’t commit to anything more than that, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ridder saw the field in silver and black. The Raiders have already benched starting quarterback Gardner Minshew at the end of two games this season.
He was demoted permanently after a Week 5 loss at Denver, but O’Connell played less than five quarters before he was added to injured reserve. He could miss up to six weeks, leaving plenty of time for Ridder to relieve, or even overtake, Minshew.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve got my hands full right now with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.” Pierce said when asked about Ridder’s long-term place with the team. “Worrying about the future is not really what I’m thinking about right now, to be honest. It’s really getting him up to speed. He got in here, he’s a bright-eyed kid, very smart, very sharp and fits in well with the room. I’m excited to see him at practice and see what he can do.”
Ridder has one other advantage in his corner — familiarity with the Raiders’ de facto current top receiver. Second-year speedster Tre Tucker has taken over the role following the trade of Davante Adams and the ankle injury keeping Jakobi Meyers sidelined.
The pair were teammates with the Bearcats, and Tucker was the first person Ridder reached out to when he knew he was coming to Las Vegas. The quarterback asked his reunited receiver if he had a place to stay, but Tucker didn’t have a spare room at the moment.
So, Ridder is holed up in a hotel for now but he’s making the most of the time alone by studying the Raiders’ playbook. He wants to be the best prepared he can be for a chance he never saw coming.
“I think I fit very well,” Ridder said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. It’s just going to be a great opportunity for me to go out whenever my time is called and be ready to go.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or