Joe Burrow Welcomes Familiar Face to Bengals Training Camp originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Joe Burrow is embedded as the starting quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals. There’s no debate about that.

Thanks to his time at LSU, where he won a national championship and a Heisman Trophy, he’s already cemented himself as one of the best in the NFL.

But few know he almost didn’t go to LSU when he left Ohio State. LSU was just one of two finalists for him when he decided to depart from Columbus. The other was the University of Cincinnati.

Burrow ultimately chose Baton Rouge, and that opened the door for another quarterback to start and excel at Cincinnati for the Bearcats: Desmond Ridder.

Now, Burrow and Ridder will be teammates with the Bengals, as they’ve signed the former Bearcat to compete for the backup quarterback spot.

Jake Browning has been the primary backup to Burrow since 2021, but now that Ridder is in town, that could change.

Ridder was a third-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons back in 2022, but never lived up to the hype he received out of Cincinnati. He spent the offseason in 2024 with the Arizona Cardinals before signing with the Las Vegas Raiders last season.

Across four seasons with the Bearcats from 2018-21, Ridder passed for 10,239 yards with a 62.1 completion percentage and 87 touchdowns to 28 interceptions.

He also carried the ball 501 times for 2,180 yards and another 28 scores.

Since 2022, Ridder has made 18 starts in 25 appearances and thrown for 4,002 yards and 16 touchdowns to 14 interceptions with a 63.6 completion percentage.

Related: Bengals Gain ‘Aggressive’ Secondary Help in 2026 NFL Mock Draft

Related: Defense Predicted to ‘Make or Break’ Bengals 2025 Season in Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.