Desmond Ridder‘s well-traveled NFL journey will include a trip up north. The Vikings are signing the former Falcons third-round pick, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report.
The Raiders did not tender Ridder as a restricted free agent this offseason, and the Bengals did not retain him following roster cuts last month. But Ridder will head to Minnesota following J.J. McCarthy‘s ankle injury. This is an active-roster deal, as Ridder will join UDFA rookie Max Brosmer in backing up Carson Wentz in Week 3. Ridder worked out for the Vikings today, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets, joining Dorian Thompson-Robinson in doing so.
Since March 2024, Ridder has now been with five teams. The Falcons traded him to the Cardinals straight-up for wide receiver Rondale Moore. Arizona, however, waived the primary 2023 Atlanta starter that August. Ridder joined the Raiders off the Cards’ practice squad in late October and made a start for the team. As Las Vegas overhauled its front office and coaching staff yet again, Ridder was not deemed a priority. He then signed with the Bengals, only to not make their 53-man roster out of training camp.
Ridder’s 18 NFL starts notwithstanding, this makes for an odd Vikings QB depth chart. With McCarthy on the mend, Minnesota’s healthy QB options will include a rookie UDFA and two players acquired recently. The Vikes signed Wentz on August 24, doing so upon trading Sam Howell to the Eagles. Wentz will be expected to start against the Bengals this week. With McCarthy far from certain to be ready for Week 4, it is not out of the questions Minnesota holds him out through its Week 6 bye. The Vikings face the Steelers and Browns in Weeks 4 and 5.
Ridder has certainly not impressed as a starting option. The Falcons reversed course on their Ridder call in-season, benching him at points for Taylor Heinicke. This came after the team refrained from a QB search — including what would have been a fruitless push for the then-franchise-tagged Lamar Jackson — and an aim to build around Ridder’s rookie deal. In 2024, Atlanta gave Kirk Cousins a lucrative deal and then drafted Michael Penix Jr. in Round 1. In between, the Ridder-for-Moore swap occurred.
This addition would give the Vikings some cover in the event Wentz is injured or struggles mightily. After all, the one-time MVP candidate-turned-journeyman has been with the Vikings for less than a month. The team retained Brosmer at last month’s roster-setting deadline, rather than risk putting him on waivers en route to the practice squad, but it might be a tall order for the rookie UDFA (out of Minnesota) to step in as a starter. With Ridder just joining the team, he would certainly be limited if asked to leapfrog Brosmer in relief of Wentz.
Smart move by the Vikings!
For sure! A guy on his fifth team since the 2022 draft is a game changer.
They could be bringing him in to scout the Bengals for this week since he was with them this summer.
Aye he’s still getting paid
At least they didn’t sign Nathan Peterman. He’s made millions with only one NFL win on his resume.
Nathan has 2 wins on his resume. December 10 2017 with the Bills against the Colts in overtime. The other occurred October 22 2023 with the Bears hosting the Raiders. He attempted no passes in the later game but had 2 rush attempts.