Who says you can't go home? Well, it has been some sort of homecoming for Desmond Ridder in the other Queen City. After starring for the former Group of Five power that was the Cincinnati Bearcats, Ridder went on to be a third-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2022 NFL Draft. After two years with the team, he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals for often-injured wide receiver Rondale Moore.
It is only fitting that Moore and Ridder never played for those teams. Ridder ended up spending time last season with the Las Vegas Raiders before coming back "home" to play for the Cincinnati Bengals. Entering training camp, Ridder was only seen as the Bengals' third-string option behind Joe Burrow and Jake Browning. Burrow does get hurt quite a bit, but Browning has looked strong when asked to start in the NFL.
As for Ridder, he was only able to attempt one pass very late in Monday night's preseason game at the Washington Commanders. While he did complete it, this only goes to show that Zac Taylor feels way more comfortable with Browning backing up Burrow than Ridder. Browning looked good in relief of Burrow, who is still playing meaningful snaps in a meaningless preseason game for the team.
As painful as it sounds, Taylor's logic behind playing starters in the preseason might cost Ridder a job.
Desmond Ridder is running out of time to make the Cincinnati Bengals
In years past, NFL franchises often used the penultimate preseason game as a dress rehearsal of sorts. Not all, but some still do, such as the Bengals this year. It all goes back to Taylor's big point of making sure his team does not start the season out slow like they did a year ago. Cincinnati has gone from a Super Bowl contender in 2021-22, to not making the playoffs each of the last two seasons.
The handful of series that Burrow has to play, begrudgingly or not, takes away from backups like Ridder having meaningful chances to make the team. With how good Browning looked vs. the Commanders, it is safe to say that his spot is all locked up. As far as if Cincinnati will keep three quarterbacks on their roster, I am not ruling that out just yet, but maybe not.
In the end, there are sentimental reasons for Ridder to be able to extend his fleeting NFL career with his franchise located in his college town of Cincinnati. The Louisville native has gone from being the Falcons' Week 1 starter in 2023 to nearly being out of the league only two years later. Life comes at you fast. While I think there is hope he can make the team, he has to play out of his mind this coming Saturday.
If Ridder is anything less than exceptional vs. the Indianapolis Colts next week, that may be it for him.