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Green Bay Packers Make Playoff Move With Former Cincinnati Bearcats Football Star Desmond Ridder

The UC star is on a playoff roster.
Russell Heltman|
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Desmond Ridder (4) walks for the locker room after the fourth quarter of the NFL Preseason Week 3 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Indianapolis Colts at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. The Colts won 41-14.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Desmond Ridder (4) walks for the locker room after the fourth quarter of the NFL Preseason Week 3 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Indianapolis Colts at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. The Colts won 41-14. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Cincinnati Bearcats

CINCINNATI — Desmond Ridder is headed to the NFL playoffs.

The Green Bay Packers announced they added the former UC star from their practice squad to the active playoff roster for Saturday night's matchup against the Bears at 8 p.m. ET. Ridder will likely be the third-string quarterback behind Jordan Love and Malik Willis as he joins a roster that has fellow Bearcats Josh Whyle and Josiah Deguara.

The veteran has trotted out in 25 games with 18 starts for the Falcons (2022-23) and Las Vegas Raiders (2024), going 374 of 588 passing (63.6 pct.) for 4,002 yards (6.8 avg.) and 16 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and a passer rating of 82.6. 

He has also registered 293 rushing yards and five TDs on 78 carries (3.8 avg.). Ridder bounced around from the Arizona Cardinals (2024) to the Cincinnati Bengals (2025) and Minnesota Vikings (2025).

"You can't blame anything on [a lack of] reps like that," Ridder noted to the media about his poor performance against the Colts to close the 2025 preseason. "In this game, in this profession, you gotta be able to put it together when your name is called on, so it doesn't matter whether you're getting 10 reps or 100 reps, you gotta be ready to go."

He's found a way to stick on NFL rosters so far, and this is another example of that staying power four years into his career. Fans can see Ridder run out with the Packers on Amazon Prime.

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Russ Heltman
RUSSELL HELTMAN

Russ Heltman is a contributor for AllBearcats and AllBengals. He is the morning host and producer for 89.3 WMKV in Cincinnati, OH. Russ can be found on Twitter: @RussHeltman11 or you can reach him by email at Heltmandm@yahoo.com.

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