Desmond Ridder will be the first to admit that he hasn’t played to his standard so far in training camp, but in the preseason opener against the Saints, he’ll have the chance to do rectify that.
“I’m excited to get out there on Saturday to kind of see it,” Ridder said. “Be able to play against a different color other than red and be able to go out there and let it fly.”
After coach Jonathan Gannon announced that Kyler Murray will not play during the preseason, it left all the preseason reps to Ridder and Clayton Tune as they battle it out for the backup quarterback spot. Gannon called it a “healthy” competition.
Gannon declined to share the plan for who will start or how much each will play. There’s a chance that time is split evenly or that each gets a full game, and they rotate in the finale. But Ridder is looking to maximize the reps he’ll be given.
“It’s huge being able to go out and play in any game,” Ridder said. “Any day I get to go out and strap up my uniform and get to go out there to go play football, it’s just a dream.”
During his first taste of the preseason last year, Tune shared the field with three other quarterbacks, limiting his number of live reps. His lone regular-season start last season against the Browns wasn’t what he had hoped for, but it gave the young QB some confidence.
“I feel like I learned a lot and feel like I can operate smoothly and be able to make things happen, make plays,” Tune said. “Getting in and out of the huddle and putting the ball in play, I feel much more confident in myself.”
The upcoming joint practices with the Colts will be another opportunity for the coaching staff to assess Ridder and Tune. Both quarterbacks mentioned they’re excited to practice against somebody that isn’t their teammate. Gannon said the week in Indy, coupled with the three preseason games, will be “interesting,” and added that both Ridder and Tune are “doing a good job.”
Even though games don’t impact the win-loss column until Week One in Buffalo, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing wants the duo to approach the next month as if the results do count.
“I think the big thing in a preseason game is that there’s some things that are exactly like an NFL regular season game and there’s some things that aren’t. That’s real,” Petzing said. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be on decision-making and operation as the big two points that we’re going to stick on. It’s going to take a look at the whole picture over here the next couple of weeks to really make that final decision.”
As Tune wraps up his second full training camp at State Farm Stadium, familiarity with the offensive scheme and staff have stood out to Petzing. It’s something that Tune believes has allowed him to play more free.
“I feel good about where I’m at,” Tune said. “I feel like I’ve put in a good body of work. There’s still work to be done, as there will be for as long as I’m playing. I feel good and just need to continue to get better and make strides and put myself in a good position.”
In the past, Gannon has liked to keep three quarterbacks in the building. At the end of 2023, Murray and Tune were on the 53-man roster and Jeff Driskel was on the practice squad. It’s unknown if that philosophy will remain the same in Gannon’s second season as head coach.
In the initial depth chart release — for what it’s worth — Ridder was listed as No. 2, Tune as No. 3. That hasn’t stopped the quarterbacks from exchanging knowledge and helping one another out.
And they’ll hope that work translates to more victories in 2024.
“We like to push each other — me, Clayton, and Kyler,” Ridder said. “We know if we push each other all as one we’re all as a unit going to become better and then all individually become better. It’s been great.
“You can’t take those reps for granted. You got to go out there and play every play like it’s your last one. You never know what’s going to happen in that play. Just to be able to go out there, have fun, come out of there with a win and hopefully play some good football.”
