Ridgeway's move to the Bay Area will be a homecoming of sorts, as he lived in nearby Rodeo, California in his youth before moving to Mansfield, Texas. He'll be helping to replenish a defensive interior that lost D.J. Jones to the Denver Broncos in free agency and may also be parting ways with Kentavius Street.
Here are four things to know about the 49ers' newest defensive addition.
He preferred roundball as a Californian
Ridgeway started out as a basketball player when he lived in California, but his move to Texas changed all that. He began his football career when he was a sophomore at Mansfield High School.
"I was a basketball player," Ridgeway told the Indianapolis Star in 2016. "I always loved basketball. But when I moved to Texas, that's what all my friends were doing. They started asking me, 'Why aren't you trying out for football?' So I said I would give it a try. So I guess it all worked out pretty well in the end."
Indeed it did. Ridgeway became a four-star recruit at Mansfield High, was rated as one of the country's top 250 overall recruits, and was selected as a U.S. Army All-American before beginning his college career at the University of Texas. Ridgeway had 92 tackles, 9.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss in 36 games (18 starts) at Texas after moving from defensive end to defensive tackle.
He went a bit later in the draft than some expected
Ridgeway (6-3, 305) was chosen with the 17th overall pick in Round 4 of the 2016 NFL Draft after declaring as a fourth-year junior. He ran a 5.02-second 40-yard dash time at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine with a vertical jump of 32 inches, a broad jump of 113 inches, and 24 bench press reps of 225 pounds. ESPN analyst Todd McShay was among those who thought Ridgeway could be selected as high as Round 2, but NFL.com's Lance Zierlein mentioned injury and conditioning issues as possible draft drawbacks.
"Ridgeway has a rare combination of power and athleticism that give him the potential to impact the game on all three downs," Zierlein wrote in 2016. "His talent could make him the most impactful defensive tackle to come out of this draft, but his floor is lower than some due to concerns over health and conditioning."
He welcomed a trade from the Colts
Ridgeway was a solid contributor as a rookie for the Colts in 2016, playing in all 16 games (five starts) and totaling 21 tackles and 1.5 sacks on 442 defensive snaps with 101 snaps on special teams. Unfortunately, those 442 snaps still stand as a career high. Ridgeway saw his defensive snaps drop to 177 in 2017, then, after Frank Reich was hired as head coach in 2018, Ridgeway didn't play much of a role on defense at all, totaling just 65 snaps in five games over the course of the 2018 season.
The Colts traded Ridgeway to the Philadelphia Eagles in April of 2019 for a seventh-round draft pick. Ridgeway made it clear at the time that he was happy about the change in scenery.
"If you're not going to keep me in your scheme, you're not going to use me, I want to go," Ridgeway told NJ Advance Media in 2019. "It worked out for the best."
Injuries and ups-and-downs with the Eagles
Ridgeway was well on his way to having a career year with the Eagles in 2019, but he saw his season cut short after seven games (five starts) due to an ankle injury. He was back with the Eagles in more of a reserve role in 2020 but once again suffered a season-ending injury after seven games (biceps).
The Eagles then cut Ridgeway at the end of the 2021 preseason but quickly brought him back to the roster after spots opened up due to injuries two days later. Ridgeway went on to play in all 17 games (one start) for the Eagles in 2021, totaling 20 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, and five quarterback hits on 373 defensive snaps. But he finished the season as the third-lowest graded player on the team by Pro Football Focus, who scored him at 36.9.
Ridgeway comes to the 49ers with 80 total tackles and 9.5 sacks in 65 career games (12 starts) with 20 quarterback hits and 13 tackles for loss. His contract with the 49ers is reportedly for $2.5 million, with $1 million guaranteed.
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