Quarterback Desmond Ridder plans to enjoy his fresh start with the Arizona Cardinals
When the Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Arthur Smith and introduced his replacement in late January, Raheem Morris said he probably wouldn’t be in Atlanta at all if the team “had better quarterback play.”
Imagine hearing that if you were the quarterback who started 13 games for the Falcons last season and 17 overall since his rookie year.
“Yeah, I mean obviously that’s tough,” Desmond Ridder said Tuesday upon being formally introduced by the Cardinals during a Zoom conference with Arizona reporters. “But a quarterback or any team sports player, it’s not all on one person. So, the outside world and whoever it may be can pin it all on one person, but it’s a team sport.
“I didn’t play 10 percent of those games very well, but I also wasn’t the only one out there. For me to go out there and just learn from it and be able to go out there and be better from it, I think that’s what’s going to help me in the long run in my career and my longevity. You can’t really control what other people say, but you can control how you respond and what you go do.”
Once it became clear the Falcons were zeroing in on veteran free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins of the Vikings, it became even clearer the team was ready to move on from either Ridder or Taylor Heinicke, who started the other four games for Atlanta in 2023.
They chose to part ways with Ridder, whom they drafted out of Cincinnati with a third-round pick in 2022. In a straight-up swap, the Falcons traded him to the Cardinals for wide receiver Rondale Moore, who never played to expectations upon being a second-round pick in 2021.
Now, both players have a fresh start, and for the 6-foot-3 Ridder, he couldn’t be happier that it’s in Arizona, where he is expected to be the primary backup to Kyler Murray. It’s not how he expected his NFL journey to evolve, but he’s fully embracing the change.
“The NFL stands for Not for Long,” Ridder, 24, said. “Granted, you’re grateful to be able to go out there and play no matter who it’s for, no matter where it is, just to be able to play the game we love. I knew myself I didn’t play my best football here in Atlanta and obviously with a new coaching staff, new guys coming in, I knew it would be possible they’d go in a different direction, and they did.
“The Arizona Cardinals reached out to our GM, Terry (Fontenot) and he gave me a call and I was ecstatic. I’m a fan of Arizona. I spent a couple days out there two Super Bowls ago. I just love the area. I love the city of Phoenix and Scottsdale, Glendale — kind of that trifecta area — and it’s just a beautiful place. I’m excited to get my family out there and excited to be out there ready to work.”
The Cardinals needed to add competition at the backup QB spot. Prior to acquiring Ridder, the only other quarterback on the roster other than Murray was second-year pro Clayton Tune, who made one disastrous start before Murray returned from ACL surgery.
Asked recently what he likes about the addition of Ridder, Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said, "Skillset, big guy, arm talent, mobility, smart, plays fast. That’s what jumped off the tape to me.”
Knowing he’s coming to a situation where the starter is already firmly entrenched doesn’t make Ridder uneasy. And he said it won’t change his approach as to how he prepares and goes about his business. It didn’t as a rookie when he played behind then-Falcons starter Marcus Mariota and it won’t change now.
“I was coming in to learn like I was the starter,” Ridder said. “It didn’t matter if I was the fourth quarterback or the first quarterback on the roster. It doesn’t matter who you are. You have to be ready to go out there and play on Sunday because as we saw last around the league, all it takes is one play whether that’s the first play in Week 1 or the 18th play in Week 16.
“Whatever it may be, you have to be ready to go and make it a smooth transition from the so-called starter to backup. It’s just going in and being able to learn, be a sponge. Kyler’s been in the league for a year or two longer than I have so it’s going to be exciting to get out there and learn what he’s learned and to see how he learns, to see how he manages the game on and off the field.”
Ridder completed 64.2 percent of his passes last season for 2,836 yards and 12 touchdowns against 12 interceptions before being benched in favor of Heinicke. Both quarterbacks played against the Cardinals during Arizona’s 25-23 victory in Glendale in Week 10, Murray’s first game back from surgery.
Murray showed off his rare speed and elusive mobility toward the end of that game, scampering for a 13-yard gain to help set up the game-winning field goal by Matt Prater. Murray’s cat-quick maneuverability isn’t lost on Ridder.
“Someone asked me a while back, ‘How’s it going to feel not to be the most athletic guy in the quarterback room,’ ” he recalled. “For most of my life, I’ve been the most athletic. I’ve been able to jump the highest, run the fastest. But Kyler might have me in that 40 or that 10-split by a couple seconds or whatever it may be.”
More NFL: Cardinals' Monti Ossenfort, Jonathan Gannon have better timeline for 2nd offseason
Ridder said he has yet to meet Murray but plans on speaking with him soon. He does know a little about Tune, having worked out with the former Houston QB multiple times during offseason training sessions.
“Clayton is like a younger brother to me,” Ridder said, adding, “I think it’s a good combination of the three. We all have three different types of skill sets, all perfected the craft in other ways, and so it’s just going to be fun to be out there, to get to throw with them, get through OTAs, and see how they learn and how they work.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: QB Desmond Ridder 'ready to work' following trade to Cardinals
