Friday turned out to be an extended day for Desmond Ridder.
The previous Falcons quarterback, traded to the Cardinals the day earlier than in trade for vast receiver Rondale Moore (the commerce is not official till each cross physicals), arrived in Arizona for his medicals and to fulfill along with his new coaches solely after lacking his preliminary flight.
One in every of his children was sick, he was advised to go to an A gate when it was an F gate within the all the time daunting Atlanta airport, after which the practice system that was to maneuver him from one place to the following was out of service. His children, by the way in which, are nearly 3 and one month.
That did not even embrace the whirlwind a part of his job, discovering out he was being traded after two years in Atlanta as a part-time starter to come back to the Cardinals, the place he would be the main candidate to again up Kyler Murray.
“What’s immediately? Friday?” Ridder stated late Friday afternoon after assembly with Jonathan Gannon for the primary time.
The timing might’ve been a bit higher, since Ridder and his household are headed to a marriage on the East coast. However with a brand new teaching employees in Atlanta and the choice to signal Kirk Cousins, Ridder knew some form of change is perhaps coming.
“I did not play to what I believed the expectations had been of myself final season,” Ridder stated. “We knew there have been different alternatives that would come out there.
“We simply need to take advantage of any alternative with my profession and my life as a complete. It did not work out however God works in mysterious methods and now we’re in lovely Arizona.”
Ridder began 13 video games final season, finishing 64.2 p.c of his passes for two,836 yards, 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and a passer ranking of 83.4, discovering himself benched a few occasions and main the Falcons to hunt out veteran Kirk Cousins as a free agent.
Ridder arrives to play for a group that has Kyler Murray – whom Ridder has by no means met – because the starter and Clayton Tune – with whom Ridder is associates – the person he’ll should beat out to be the No. 2.
Ridder first met Tune final yr when Ridder was doing offseason coaching after his rookie season and Tune was on the similar facility coaching for the Mix and draft. The 2 additionally had some mutual connections and confronted one another in faculty when Tune was enjoying for Houston and Ridder for Cincinnati.
As for the prospect to play with Murray, “I used to be speaking to somebody the opposite day and he stated this is perhaps the primary time in your profession you are not the quickest within the room. That most likely will piss me off a bit bit, however nah, it’s going to be enjoyable.”
The household was making solely a pit cease within the desert, needing to return to the airport late Friday evening for a crimson eye flight. The marriage is in Key West, Florida, which is the place that they had been initially scheduled to fly Friday morning earlier than the commerce jammed up the itinerary.
“I simply need to get by way of this weekend,” Ridder stated with a smile. “The entire ordeal – the commerce, transferring, looking for a spot, I have not even dove into that but. At 5:15 this morning I used to be simply fearful about attending to the airport, which we failed. We have to examine this (weekend) field first.”