Desmond

Ridder

Over three seasons with the Cardinals and Packers, Tune is 21-of-38 for 112 scoreless yards, three interceptions, and has taken 12 sacks. On the bright side, he still has his youth. The Packers decided to add Desmond Ridder to the playoff roster over Tune. We don’t think anything we can say would be meaner than that.

Ridder will likely be activated before Week 13’s game against the Seahawks as J.J. McCarthy continues to work his way through concussion protocol. Ridder spent time with the Vikings earlier this season but has not appeared in a game this year.

Apparently they aren’t ready to thrust Max Brosmer into the fire as the main backup despite carrying him as an UDFA. The team will carry four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster while dealing with J.J. McCarthy’s high-ankle sprain. Ridder was terrible with the Raiders last year, turning six appearances and one start into a 458/2/2 line while getting sacked on 10.5 percent of his dropbacks. He’s still only 26, and now he’s in a Kevin O’Connell offense so we may have to care about him, but you’d think we would have seen a real sign of life from Ridder at some point over the last three years if he was going to be a solid NFL backup.

The release leaves just Jake Browning behind starter Joe Burrow on the active roster. Ridder didn’t pan out with the Falcons or Raiders but could get another chance to stick on an NFL roster through waivers. A career 16-to-14 touchdown-to-interception ratio in three professional seasons is the clear downside to Ridder’s profile, but plus athleticism and an above average arm are valuable traits in the current state of the league.

Ridder, 25, spent last offseason with the Cardinals only to be cut and later sign with the Raiders. The former third-round pick appeared in six games while making one start last season, throwing for 458 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions on 85 attempts. Ridder has started 18 games in his three-year career, but shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than camp competition against UDFA Payton Thorne.

Ridder is a former third-round pick of the Falcons in 2022 and started 13 games for them in 2023. Atlanta moved on from Ridder after his 12-touchdown, 12-interception season; he joined the Raiders to play six games and start one in 2024. The 25-year-old is searching for backup jobs around the NFL after throwing for 5.4 yards per attempt and earning a 45.7 PFF grade last season, good for No. 69 out of 75 quarterbacks. The Broncos will bring him into rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, where Ridder looks to earn the chance to compete with Sam Ehlinger for the third-string quarterback spot in Denver.

This means that Ridder will become part of the free agent class in a few weeks. Originally drafted in the third round by the Falcons, Ridder was traded to Arizona after the team signed Kirk Cousins. He failed to earn the backup gig over Clayton Tune and was cut by Arizona and re-signed to their practice squad. The Raiders eventually picked him up after Aidan O’Connell went down with an injury. Ridder made one start and appeared in a handful of other games. He threw for 458 yards at 5.4 yards per attempt with two touchdowns and as many interceptions in 2024. No matter where Ridder lands in free agency, he will be fighting for a roster spot during the summer.

O’Connell didn’t practice all week and the team was still so desperate to get him active that they took him to the field for a pre-game workout on Monday. One week of exposure to in-game Desmond Ridder probably made Pierce pretty optimistic about O’Connell returning as soon as possible. We’d wait for positive practice reports before we started making O’Connell plans for superflex leagues, but it’s clear the Raiders want him back as soon as possible to finish out the season.

The Raiders completely struggled to move the football against the Falcons for more than three quarters, managing a lone field goal until their penultimate drive. Even so, inadequate play calling and poor efficiency from the Falcons allowed the Raiders a chance at the win late in the fourth quarter, eventually finding themselves inside the 50 with 10 seconds remaining. It was enough time for two Hail Mary attempts from Ridder, the first of which went untouched as it fell harmlessly to the ground in the back of the end zone and the second resulting in Ridder’s second interception as time expired. Aidan O’Connell appeared to be close to starting in Week 15 despite not practicing all week, making him likely to take back over under center when the Raiders host the Jaguars in Week 16.

Ridder was named as the Week 15 starter by Antonio Pierce last week, but that was before we knew Aidan O’Connell (knee) would try to play through the injury he suffered in Week 14. According to Schefter, O’Connell, who is questionable, will try to test things out in pregame warmups, but Ridder “is expected to start for now.” Assuming he gets the nod, Ridder will have a chance to face off against his former team who selected him No. 74 overall just three years ago. We’ve seen enough of Ridder to know he shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a low-end QB2 in fantasy leagues and should be kept off the radar altogether outside of 2QB/Superflex leagues.