The Minnesota Vikings are releasing former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder from their 53-man roster, according to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The Vikings signed Ridder after starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain during their Week 2 loss to the Falcons.
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The former third-round pick has yet to play in a game this season, and last appeared for the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2024 season finale. Ridder’s last career start came against the Falcons, nearly leading the Raiders to a comeback victory over his former team. Even though Atlanta won, 15-9, the team benched Kirk Cousins after the game due to poor performance.
The Falcons drafted Ridder back in 2022 out of the University of Cincinnati. After backing up Marcus Mariota for the first 13 games of his rookie season, Ridder started the final four games before going into 2023 as the team’s starting quarterback.
Ridder appeared in 19 games for the Falcons (17 starts) over two seasons, passing for 3,544 yards, 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Atlanta traded the young quarterback to the Cardinals during the 2024 offseason, but Ridder didn’t last long in Arizona.
The Raiders signed the 26-year-old off the Cardinals practice squad but did not bring him back in 2025. The Cincinnati Bengals later signed Ridder in the offseason, however, he was released at the roster cut deadline. We’ll have to wait and see where the former Falcons quarterback lands next.
In other former Falcons player news, the New York Jets signed linebacker Mykal Walker to their active roster ahead of Week 5. Walker started 20 games over three seasons in Atlanta (2020-2023), recording 187 tackles (104 solo), three interceptions, one sack and 11 passes defended.
The Falcons are off this weekend for their bye week, but will have a brutal stretch of games when they return. Check out our predictions for each remaining game on Atlanta’s 2025 schedule.
This article originally appeared on asohij: Former Falcons QB Desmond Ridder released by Vikings
