The Arizona Cardinals are parting ways with veteran quarterback Desmond Ridder as they start their 53-man roster cuts, as reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
This decision comes just two days after the Cardinals suffered a 38-12 defeat against the Denver Broncos in their preseason finale. The team has decided to keep Clayton Tune as the backup to starter Kyler Murray.
Ridder had his strongest performance with the Cardinals during the game in Denver, completing 10 of 16 passes for 111 yards and achieving an 83.1 QBR. He also gained 25 yards on two rushing attempts. However, his day ended negatively when he exited the game late in the fourth quarter after taking a hit, subsequently being placed into concussion protocol. Head coach Jonathan Gannon confirmed on Monday that Ridder has since cleared the protocol.
Prior to the game on Sunday, Ridder had a combined performance of 10-of-19 for 114 yards in the Cardinals’ first two preseason games.
Ridder’s time with the Cardinals began when he was traded from the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for wide receiver Rondale Moore. With this background, he seemed on track to secure the QB2 position heading into training camp. However, inconsistencies and turnovers marked his performance throughout camp and in practices against the Indianapolis Colts, allowing Tune to step up.
Tune demonstrated noticeable improvement during this offseason, especially towards the end of training camp and throughout most of the preseason. However, his performance against the Broncos raised concerns, as he appeared less decisive than in previous games, resulting in three sacks on the day. Overall, Tune faced at least two sacks per game during the preseason. While he wasn’t the only factor in the eight sacks he incurred over the exhibition games, there were instances where he could have mitigated the situation.
Nonetheless, Tune’s overall performance was strong enough to secure a roster spot, having tallied 361 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception on 35 completions out of 52 attempts across three preseason games.
While Tune currently seems to have a secure position, the Cardinals may consider bringing in new talent from outside the organization after the deadline for 53-man roster cuts on Tuesday. Last year, general manager Monti Ossenfort acquired quarterback Josh Dobbs from the Cleveland Browns when Murray was recovering from a torn ACL, and Dobbs went on to start eight games before being traded to the Minnesota Vikings.
This year, with Murray fully recovered, the Cardinals are not in the same quarterback situation, but the possibility of signing another player remains if they see fit.