Cardinals release QB Desmond Ridder months after trade; Clayton Tune to back up Kyler Murray

The writing was on the wall fairly quickly for Ridder, who began the preseason as the first option behind Kyler Murray, then spent the final two preseason games as Tune’s understudy.

Tune outplayed Ridder, at least relatively speaking for the preseason environment, completing 35 of 52 passes for 361 yards and a 1-1 TD-INT ratio in three games. Ridder, meanwhile, completed 20 of 35 attempts for 225 yards.

Neither inspired much confidence, but Arizona’s decision sends the same uninspired message regarding Ridder that Atlanta conveyed when general manager Terry Fontenot willingly dealt the Cincinnati product after just two NFL seasons. Though he’s mobile, Ridder has never demonstrated enough consistency to earn the faith of a front office. There are teams that could use a backup, though, so we’ll see if that leads Ridder to another opportunity elsewhere.