It wasn’t that long ago that Desmond Ridder became a staple of the Cincinnati Bearcats, leading them to a College Football Playoff appearance. Now a backup to Kyler Murray on the Arizona Cardinals, he won’t be that for long and will once again be a starter in 2025. That team will be the Seattle Seahawks.
The current quarterback room for Seattle is headlined by Geno Smith who has put up 8,159 yards, and 52 touchdowns over two seasons starting. He has also thrown 20 interceptions and had 52 turnover worthy plays during that stretch. Smith is a good bridge quarterback, but his ceiling is definitely showing, as he will be 34 by the end of the season.
The backup for the Seahawks? It’s Sam Howell. Now, Howell isn’t the worst, but it’s definitely not ideal either for the future of the Seahawks’ offense. Howell showed flashes with his big arm and rushing ability, but it also came with plenty of costly turnovers and head scratching decisions.
That’s where Ridder comes into play as the candidate to lead the Seahawks offense. While the play hasn’t necessarily been great for Ridder, his situation with the Atlanta Falcons wasn’t necessarily ideal either. Ridder coming out of Cincinnati was known for diagnosing defenses, which he’s been able to show glimpses of at the NFL level as well. While Ridder did have 12 interceptions in 2023, he still completed 64.2% of his passes for 2,386 yards and 12 touchdowns over just 15 games in limited snaps at times. Over that, his ability to work through his reads remained the same.
Ridder is also able to utilize his mobility, as he has the capability to pick up yards on the ground and manipulate the pocket as well. Which would be essential for the Seahawks under new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Coming from Washington and working with Michael Penix Jr, Ridder has a similar style of play as Penix just with more rushing upside. That would immensely help open up the offense for Grubb and the Seahawks.
With having players like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Kenneth Walker, Ridder would be going into the best situation possible since starting his NFL career. And on the flip side Ridder presents the skill set the Seahawks need.
