As J.J. McCarthy continues to recover from an ankle injury he suffered this past Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, the Minnesota Vikings added former Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Desmond Ridder to the team's active roster on Tuesday, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
The Vikings' decision to sign Ridder to the team's active roster and not to their practice squad is something to keep an eye on. With his arrival, Minnesota now has four quarterbacks on its active roster, so one would assume that another move will be happening to at least reduce that number to three before the team's next game on Sunday.
Could that move be placing McCarthy on injured reserve, which would sideline him for at least four games? Or will the Vikings just simply try to move rookie Max Brosmer to the practice squad?
Adding Desmond Ridder could just be the Minnesota Vikings making strategic move before facing the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3
Considering Ridder just spent training camp with the Bengals and appeared in all three of their preseason games this summer, Tuesday's move by Minnesota could just be them attempting to get an advantage before facing Cincinnati on Sunday.
If this is the case, Ridder and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores will likely become really close during the next few days.
Whether it's the main reason why Minnesota added the former third-round pick to its roster or not, at the very least, the team will want to pick his brain and find out as much as they can before this weekend's clash with the Bengals.
If the Vikings only signed Ridder on Tuesday to have him help prepare for Cincinnati, then it's fair to wonder if McCarthy could return to the field sooner than anticipated.
If Minnesota expected its No. 1 signal-caller to miss multiple weeks, they probably would have signed a quarterback who is more familiar with the team's offensive scheme, right?
Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor and Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell both spent time on the Los Angeles Rams coaching staff under Sean McVay, so there is some crossover there when it comes to offensive schemes.
Still, Ridder seems like an odd choice to add if the team is going to keep him beyond Week 3, given his lack of success since entering the NFL in 2022 (8-10 career record as a starter).