QB Desmond Ridder waived by Cardinals on cut-down day

The Arizona Cardinals waived quarterback Desmond Ridder on Tuesday as they trimmed their roster down to 53 players.

Ridder, acquired in an offseason trade with the Atlanta Falcons, was competing with Clayton Tune for the backup role behind starter Kyler Murray.

Ridder finished the preseason completing 20 of 35 pass attempts for 225 yards in three games.

The Cardinals acquired Ridder in March, sending wide receiver Rondale Moore to the Falcons. Moore suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp.

Ridder, a third-round pick by Atlanta in 2022, started 17 career games, completing 64% of his passes with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions between the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

After being named the full-time starter prior to the 2023 season, Ridder was benched twice by former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, in part because of his decision-making and issues with ball security — he had 12 fumbles and threw 12 interceptions last season. After the season, team owner Arthur Blank called his team’s quarterback play “deficient” and made it clear the team would be looking for a new starting quarterback, which ended up being Kirk Cousins, who signed with the Falcons in free agency.