The Washington Commanders traded defensive tackle John Ridgeway III to the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday in exchange for a sixth-round selection and a seventh-round pick. Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton, a rookie, now has more opportunity to play a significant role this season thanks to the trade.
Adam Peters, general manager of Commanders, outlined the reasoning behind the deal on Wednesday night. “I think with a guy like John, he did a really good job and you guys saw how good he did on Sunday night to, and so with that there’s a lot of interest in him,” Peters stated. “And, you look at your team and you look at who you have in the building and compare it to what teams are offering.” Since the conclusion of this year’s draft, Peters has been determined to increase the number of draft picks he has on hand. After making a few transactions in the past week, the Commanders, who had only six picks in the draft the next year, now have eight. Peters thinks that the draft should be used to build.
“We thought it’s a really good opportunity for him to go somewhere and play a little bit more than he probably would’ve played here and a scheme that probably fits him a little bit more,” Peters said. “He went out there and put some of his best tape out there and really, really paddled for us out here, all off season, all summer, all training camp.”We thus send him our warmest wishes, and I have no doubt that he will have a fantastic year in New Orleans.”
Related: Dan Quinn of Commanders Describes Holding Two Undrafted Free Agents Because of circumstances such as these, there has always been an unwritten rule that says, rookie or veteran alike, you should make the most of your playing time during the preseason. Ridgeway performed admirably in the preseason, which helped the Commanders earn a sixth-round pick and gives him the opportunity to play much more than he would have in Washington. Both the athlete and the team benefited from this. On December 15, Ridgeway and the Saints will play host to the Commanders in Week 15.
