On Tuesday, the Arizona Cardinals decided to cut veteran quarterback Desmond Ridder after he lost the backup quarterback competition with fellow veteran Clayton Tune. But it sounds like he will be sticking around with the organization, after all.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Cardinals decided to bring back Desmond Ridder by signing him to their practice squad, according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero.
The Cardinals acquired Ridder in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons earlier this offseason expecting that he could serve as the backup quarterback for starter Kyler Murray. However, that obviously changed in recent weeks when he was unable to beat out Clayton Tune for the backup role. As a result, Ridder was cut from the team’s roster and will now serve as in a practice squad role this season.
This is obviously a big change for Ridder. At this point last season, Ridder was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons entering the season. However, after a difficult season that saw him benched for veteran Taylor Heinicke multiple times, the Falcons decided to move on from Ridder and sign veteran Kirk Cousins instead.
We’ll have to see how Ridder’s career plays out from this point, but it’s certainly a humbling move to go from starter to practice squad in a single season.
