The New Orleans Saints agreed on a trade with the Washington Commanders to acquire John Ridgeway III, getting some help at defensive tackle with Khalen Saunders on the mend. On Wednesday, Commanders general manager Adam Peters shared his reaction to the move.
“There was a lot of interest in him,” Peters told ESPN’s John Keim. “Good opportunity for him to go somewhere and play more probably than here and a scheme that fits him a little more.”
Peters added that he thought Ridgeway had put together “some of his best tape” in the Commanders’ final preseason game with the New England Patriots. Ridgeway was their highest-graded defender in that matchup at Pro Football Focus, with an 87.0 overall player rating and three tackles (all solo defensive stops), plus a quarterback pressure. Not bad for a big nose guard.
Ridgeway has been an effective run-stopper for Washington the last two years, having played college football at Arkansas before being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys (who waived him during his rookie year). But the Commanders have made a lot of other investments in the trenches and they viewed this as an opportunity to get something back for a player it had cost them nothing to pick up. All it cost the Saints was next year’s sixth-round draft pick, but they’re getting back a seventh rounder, so really it’s nothing more than a pick swap.
Here’s the state of the Saints at defensive tackle once this trade becomes official:
- On the 53-man roster: Bryan Bresee, Nathan Shepherd, Khalen Saunders (injured), Khristian Boyd, John Ridgeway III
- On the practice squad: Kendal Vickers
