Sunday afternoon, Cincinnati Bearcat and Bengal fans were given the fantastic news of former University of Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder signing with the Bengals.
Bengals signing QB Desmond Ridder. (via @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/Bt6WvD2ECn
— NFL (@NFL) July 20, 2025
Ridder will be joining the team as the third-string quarterback, with the Bengals releasing Logan Woodside on Sunday afternoon aswell.
Ridder joins a QB room of Joe Burrow, Jake Browning, and himself., All three quarterbacks made the College Football Playoff, with Burrow being the only one to win the championship.
Ridder will not be competing for any large role within the organization and will likely play on the practice squad/scout team helping prep the Bengals defense for the upcoming opponent.
Ridder, being a former third-round pick, has been on the Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, and Las Vegas Raiders in his short career. Ridder has a workout scheduled with the Denver Broncos but opted to join the Bengals and go back to the city that he once found so much success in.
With this news, it came as a surprise to many that there was a history between Burrow and Ridder, albeit indirectly.
In 2018, when Burrow was transferring from Ohio State, his top two schools were Cincinnati and LSU. Burrow's choice of Baton Rouge led Ridder to start at Cincinnati as a redshirt freshman and grow into the fantastic college player that so many Cincinnati fans grew to love.
When Joe Burrow decided to transfer from Ohio State, his final two choices were UC and LSU. When he elected to go to Baton Rouge, Desmond Ridder was able to start as a redshirt freshman for the Bearcats. It certainly worked out well for both of them, and now they’re teammates. https://t.co/rW61PbK5GT
— Dan Hoard (@Dan_Hoard) July 20, 2025