Who Should I Start? Desmond Ridder or Sam Hartman

Sunday, July 20, 1:53 PM

Former Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback Desmond Ridder is signing an undisclosed deal with the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, per the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Ridder will bring some experience to the Bengals' QB room behind starter Joe Burrow. The 25-year-old Ridder will join backups Jake Browning and Logan Woodside. He was originally a third-rounder by Atlanta in 2022 out of Cincinnati. Ridder made 17 starts in Atlanta in his first two years in the NFL before being traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 2024. He then appeared in six games with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2024 before joining the Bengals this summer. In three NFL seasons, Ridder has completed 63.6% of his pass attempts for 4,002 yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 25 games (18 starts). He will not be a lock to make the 53-man roster out of training camp.

Friday, August 8, 11:55 PM

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Hartman played the first half of the Commanders' first preseason game in New England and was largely ineffective. He completed nine of 19 passes for 64 yards and threw one interception. He didn't take a sack and also added a six-yard scramble. The former Notre Dame signal caller was let down by his receivers a bit, with multiple drops by receiver Chris Moore and KJ Osborn. He delivered a beautiful deep ball to Moore down the sideline, who momentarily caught it before losing control when he hit the ground. On his final drive of the night, he again dropped it in the bucket to Osborn on a slot fade in the endzone, but he couldn't come down with it. Otherwise, Hartman struggled with accuracy and threw a poor interception after being late on the throw. He's been battling for the QB3 position in Washington with journeyman Josh Johnson, who may have the upper hand with a solid performance in the second half.