The Arizona Cardinals acquired veteran quarterback Desmond Ridder in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons earlier this offseason expecting that he could serve as the backup quarterback for starter Kyler Murray. But it doesn’t sound like that’s going to happen, after all.
According to a report from NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Arizona Cardinals have decided to release Desmond Ridder after he lost a backup quarterback battle with fellow veteran quarterback Clayton Tune.
“Source: The #AZCardinals are releasing QB Desmond Ridder, who was in a backup battle with Clayton Tune,” Schefter said in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
Source: The #AZCardinals are releasing QB Desmond Ridder, who was in a backup battle with Clayton Tune.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 27, 2024
Ridder was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He was named the team’s starting quarterback at the end of the 2022 season as the Falcons decided to bench Marcus Mariota. Ridder was then the team’s starter to begin the 2023 season, but he was not able to hold onto the job as the team opted to part ways with him and bring in veteran Kirk Cousins to replace him.
In his 19 NFL appearances, Ridder has completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,544 and 14 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.
