Player

Desmond Ridder

QB · Packers

Ridder's arc is the cautionary tale of a small rookie sample inflating expectations: 4 clean games handed him a full 15-start season, but the volume exposed every weakness. When Kirk Cousins became available, Atlanta's decision was immediate.

FanIQ Research · May 11, 2026 · 6 facts, every one from the play-by-play

From Falcons starter to third-string in Green Bay — 24 career starts and counting down.

Trend

Ridder by season

Season	Team	G	Cmp/Att	Yds	TD	INT
2022	ATL	4	73/115	708	2	0
2023	ATL	15	249/388	2836	12	12
2024	LV	5	52/85	458	2	2

Ridder's career has been a one-way slide. A 3rd-round pick in 2022, he was handed Atlanta's job as a rookie (final 4 games, 0 INTs) and held it for a full 15-start 2023 season. That bridge year produced 2,836 passing yards, 12 TD, 12 INT — middling enough that Atlanta signed Kirk Cousins the following March and traded Ridder to Arizona, who released him a month later.

Landing in Las Vegas, he made 5 appearances in 2024 (2 starts) before being cut. He's now on Green Bay's roster but inactive — 0 snaps in 2025.

Games played per season

Season	Games
2022	4
2023	15
2024	5
2025	0

Why it matters. Ridder's arc is the cautionary tale of a small rookie sample inflating expectations: 4 clean games handed him a full 15-start season, but the volume exposed every weakness. When Kirk Cousins became available, Atlanta's decision was immediate.

The 2023 INT problem: 3 multi-INT games across an 8-week span — then benched, reinstated, and 2 more vs the Saints immediately.

Split

2023 games with 2+ interceptions

Week	Opp	Cmp/Att	Yds	TD	INT
4	JAX	19/31	191	1	2
6	WAS	28/47	307	2	3
12	NO	13/21	168	1	2

Ridder threw 0 INTs as a rookie in 2022. Then in 2023 he gave back 12 in a single season — 7 of them came in just 3 games spanning an 8-week window (Week 4 through Week 12). Atlanta benched him for Taylor Heinicke at Week 8; he was reinserted at Week 12 and immediately threw 2 more against the Saints.

The peak game of his career came amid the chaos: 347 passing yards vs Tampa Bay in Week 14, his career high — and still a loss.

Why it matters. The 2023 INT cluster wasn't spread evenly — 58% of Ridder's interceptions came in three specific games. Atlanta could absorb a bad week; they could not absorb three multi-turnover meltdowns in a stretch that also forced a midseason benching.

As a backup in Vegas: 5 appearances, a 1-for-2 Week 18 curtain call — his last NFL pass to date.

Anomaly

2024 LV appearances

Week	Opp	Cmp/Att	Yds	TD	INT
9	CIN	11/16	74	1	0
12	DEN	5/10	64	0	0
14	TB	12/18	101	0	0
15	ATL	23/39	208	1	2
18	LAC	1/2	11	0	0

His largest 2024 appearance came in Week 15 — against his old Atlanta team. He threw for 208 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT in a 15-9 loss. The other four appearances totaled 46 combined attempts — relief duty behind Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell.

The Week 18 finale: 1-for-2, 11 yards. As of 2026, that 11-yard completion is his most recent NFL pass.

Why it matters. The Week 15 start against Atlanta — the team that drafted and released him — was the only meaningful action Ridder got all year. The Week 18 cameo (2 attempts, 1 completion) signals how far down the depth chart he sat.

In the 2022 QB draft class, Ridder ranks 5th in win percentage — behind even undrafted-level Brock Purdy by 30 games.

Comparison

2022 QB draft class — career regular-season W-L record

QB	Pick	Starts	W	L	Win%
Brock Purdy	262	46	31	15	.674
Kenny Pickett	20	28	15	13	.536
Desmond Ridder	74	21	8	13	.381
Malik Willis	86	8	3	5	.375
Bailey Zappe	137	12	4	8	.333
Sam Howell	144	19	5	14	.263

Ridder was the 2nd QB drafted in his class (pick 74, behind only first-rounder Kenny Pickett). Through 2025, he has the second-worst win percentage in the class — above only Sam Howell.

The class inversion with Brock Purdy (pick 262, Mr. Irrelevant) is historic: Purdy went 31-15 in 46 starts (.674) while Ridder went 8-13 in 21 starts (.381), a gap of 23 wins from a player drafted 188 picks later in the same year.

Why it matters. Draft position implied Ridder was the second-most NFL-ready QB of the 2022 class; the actual start outcomes say he was fifth. The Purdy inversion is not just about talent — it reflects how a perfect scheme fit can make a late pick outperform the class's presumed starters.

708 rookie passing yards with 0 INTs — only a handful of QBs since 2010 have started 4+ games as rookies without a pick.

Rare

QBs since 2010: 4+ starts, 0 INTs as rookie (50+ attempts)

QB	Rookie Year	Starts	Attempts	INTs
Jake Locker	2011	5	66	0
Desmond Ridder	2022	4	115	0

Ridder's 2022 audition was clean: 4 starts, 73-of-115 (63.5%), 708 yards, 2 TD, zero interceptions. Atlanta finished 2-2 in those starts.

Only one other QB since 2010 matched that combination — Jake Locker in 2011, with a smaller 66-attempt sample. The 0-INT rookie line is precisely what earned Ridder a full 2023 season. The very next year he threw 12, one of the largest single-season jumps in interception rate for any QB who posted a 0-INT rookie stint.

Why it matters. The 0-INT rookie window is precisely why Atlanta gave Ridder a full season. It looked like rare pocket discipline; in a larger sample it proved to be a small-sample artifact — his career INT rate climbed to 2.4% once defenses had a full season of tape.

Since 2010, no QB posted 100+ rookie attempts with 0 INTs and then threw 12+ INTs the next season — only Ridder.

Anomaly

QBs since 2010: clean rookie stint (100+ att, 0 INT) and year-2 result

QB	Rookie Yr	Rookie Att	Rookie INT	Yr2 Att	Yr2 INT	INT%
Desmond Ridder	2022	115	0	388	12	3.09%

Ridder is the only QB since 2010 to throw 100+ passes as a rookie with zero interceptions and then follow it with a 12-INT season in his first full year. His INT rate jumped from 0.0% to 3.09% — a 3.09 percentage-point spike in a single offseason.

For comparison: the league-wide QB INT rate in 2023 was roughly 2.5%. Ridder went from well below average to above average in turnovers in one year — precisely the direction teams needed him not to go when they handed him a full season.

Why it matters. The jump from 0.0% to 3.09% INT rate is the statistical signature of a QB who looked clean in a protected, limited sample and then got exposed at scale. Atlanta's misread of the 2022 data cost them the 2023 season.

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