Who Should I Start? Desmond Ridder or Sam Howell

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.

Tuesday, June 17, 12:11 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Howell was usually the second QB to rotate into team drills during offseason workouts behind J.J. McCarthy, which suggests that Howell is the front-runner for the No. 2 job. However, nothing he did this spring indicated that he will push McCarthy to start in 2025, according to ESPN's Kevin Seifert. "He's kind of like J.J.," head coach Kevin O'Connell said, "where he's made some throws where you're like, 'Man, probably shouldn't have made that throw. But I now know on this play, I've got to be careful of this.' And it's all growth." Behind Howell is Brett Rypien and undrafted rookie Max Brosmer. The Vikings acquired Howell in a trade this offseason with Seattle. The former fifth-rounder by the Commanders has completed 62.6% of his passes for 4,139 yards, 22 touchdowns and 23 picks in 20 games (18 starts) in his three NFL seasons.