Arizona
Desmond Ridder trade grades: Who won Falcons-Cardinals deal including Rondale Moore?
Breaking down the Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins free agent signings
USA Today’s Lorenzo Reyes breaks down the biggest quarterback free agency moves.
The Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons reportedly pulled off a surprise trade on Thursday, agreeing to terms on a deal that sends quarterback Desmond Ridder to Arizona and wide receiver Rondale Moore to Atlanta.
So did the Cardinals or Falcons win the trade?
Check out these NFL trade grades for the deal involving Ridder, who is expected to be the backup quarterback in Arizona, and Moore, who gives Atlanta another receiving option for new quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Do writers like the deal better for Atlanta or for Arizona?
Ridder threw 12 touchdown passes and had 12 passes interceptions last season, throwing for 2,836 yards and completing 64.2% of his passes.
Moore had 40 receptions for 352 yards and one touchdown.
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CBS Sports: Falcons get an A in Desmond Ridder trade; Cardinals receive a C+
John Breech writes: “This isn’t a horrible trade for the Cardinals. They had a need at backup quarterback, and they filled that need by adding Ridder. Giving up Moore is somewhat of a surprise, especially since Arizona will likely be losing Marquise Brown in free agency. With both guys out, that means Arizona will be going into 2024 without two of their top-four receivers from last season. Before this trade, the Cardinals had Clayton Tune behind Kyler Murray on the depth chart, but now, that job will go to Ridder.”
Fansided: Cardinals earn a B for Desmond Ridder trade; Falcons land a B-
Mark Powell writes: “Frankly, it’s tough to pick out a winner here. Ridder started 17 games with the Falcons and performed well enough with a decent offense around him. He’ll be asked to do much more should Murray go down for a significant period of time. As for Moore, he’s just the cherry on top of what’s been a very successful offseason in Atlanta. The Falcons already boast a receiving corps with London and Darnell Mooney, who they signed this week alongside Cousins. Moore had 352 receiving yards last season but was also used as a rushing threat, which could be an intriguing motive for an Atlanta team that used Cordarrelle Patterson in a similar role for years.”
More: Arizona Cardinals trade WR Rondale Moore to Falcons for QB Desmond Ridder
Bleacher Report: Cardinals receive a B in Desmond Ridder trade; Falcons get a B-
Gary Davenport writes: “Essentially, this trade boils down to a swap of two players who have yet to meet expectations and who could potentially benefit from a change of scenery. Ridder is younger and a quarterback, though, so the Redbirds got the better of the deal — if only slightly.”
Walter Football: Falcons land a B+ for Desmond Ridder trade; Cardinals earn a B-
It writes: “Ridder was woeful last year. He’ll obviously make for a better backup, but I’m not even sure he can be an average backup. Perhaps the Cardinals believe they can develop him into being a solid No. 2 option behind Kyler Murray, but Arizona can’t count on winning many games if/when Murray gets hurt. The Cardinals, however, didn’t give up much, surrendering only Rondale Moore. The 24-year-old receiver has seen his receptions drop in each of the past three seasons, as he’s looking more and more like a second-round bust. However, the Falcons have a promising offensive coordinator in Zac Robinson, so perhaps Robinson can figure out a way to utilize Moore. I think Atlanta has more upside in this trade, but this is a swap that could very easily become insignificant for both parties.”
NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals pass on Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2024 NFL Draft
Sportsnaut.com: Falcons get a B+ grade for Desmond Ridder trade; Cardinals receive a C+
Vincent Frank writes: “A rare player-for-player swap with no draft picks involved. After signing Kirk Cousins earlier in the offseason, the Falcons moved their incumbent QB to Arizona. A third-round pick of the Falcons back in 2022, Ridder will now serve as Kyler Murray’s backup. Meanwhile, Atlanta nabs another weapon for Cousins in the 5-foot-7 Moore. He failed to take off in three seasons with the Cardinals, but could fit this Atlanta offense to a T.”
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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A new study has ranked Arizona as one of the worst states to move to for two years in a row, largely due to what it calls a poor quality of life.
The study conducted by Consumer Affairs analyzed the best states to move to in the United States, putting Arizona at the bottom of the list.
Before Arizonans get too defensive about the Grand Canyon State, Consumer Affairs used factors such as affordability, safety, economic strength and education to measure each state, leaving out factors like entertainment, retirement benefits and other considerations that may be important to people living here.
Popular states such as California and New York also landed at the bottom of the list due to their lack of affordability, even though they both have some of the best health care and education in the nation, Consumer Affairs noted.
Here’s why the study says you shouldn’t move to Arizona. Do you agree?
Why you shouldn’t move to Arizona
Arizona ranked No. 10 out of the worst states to move to, scoring especially poorly in quality of life.
Quality of life was measured by the state’s Social Progress Index, average air quality, weather, environmental protection and number of national parks. Due to Arizona’s extreme summers and Phoenix’s consistently poor air quality, it’s easy to see why Arizona ranked No. 44 in quality of life out of 50 states, even though the Grand Canyon is one of the most popular national parks in the nation.
However, Arizona also ranked poorly in other categories, sitting at No. 42 in health care and education, No. 41 in safety and No. 34 in affordability out of 50 states.
There was one category Arizona did impressively well in, ranking No. 5 in economic strength even as one of the youngest states in the country. Still, Arizona’s economic power wasn’t enough to boost its ranking.
Top 10 worst states to move to
Arizona wasn’t alone; some of the biggest states in the country were also considered the worst states to move to in 2026.
- New Mexico
- Louisiana
- California
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Nevada
- Alaska
- Mississippi
- Oregon
- Arizona
Top 10 best states to move to
- Utah
- New Hampshire
- Idaho
- Minnesota
- Massachusetts
- Maine
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- Iowa
- South Dakota
PHOENIX — Arizona’s ACA marketplace enrollment fell from 363,000 to just over 255,000 in a single year — a nearly 30% decline and the third-largest annual drop in the country.
Rising premiums and expired tax credits are driving the trend, with the average benchmark plan premium in Arizona now at $532 — up 30% from 2025.
In the player above, ABC15 Data Analyst Garrett Archer takes a look inside the numbers on how healthcare premiums are impacting health insurance enrollment.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Arizona
Arizona man pleads guilty after illegally living in forest for years among ‘1,000lbs of trash’
A man in Arizona has pleaded guilty to violating federal fire restrictions and unlawfully residing in a national forest, after authorities said he spent years living at a makeshift campsite surrounded by what officials described as “approximately 1,000 pounds of trash”.
Mark Aaron Gatz was arrested on 25 June at his illegal campsite in Arizona’s Tonto national forest, according to court records. A United States Forest Service (USFS) officer wrote in documents submitted to court that Gatz had been operating an “illegal campsite” with a “hot wood burning campfire” despite fire restrictions and that he had told investigators that he had been living in the forest for about eight years.
The officer wrote that a records check found that Gatz had previously received multiple citations and was the subject of six outstanding federal arrest warrants for earlier violations, including for building fires during fire restrictions, constructing on national forest service lands, unsanitary conditions and occupying national forest as a residence.
Gatz “said that he knew about current fire restrictions but had to have fire to eat”, authorities said. The documents show that USFS officers made contact with Gatz multiple times over the last year or so, and issued him warnings as well as a violation notice for having campfires during fire restrictions.
Notes from officers’ previous encounters with Gatz earlier this year, submitted into the court docket, state that authorities observed “trash such as clothing, pans, tools, and plastic cups scattered throughout the campsite along with a structure that was four feet in height build using wood panels”.
During an encounter with Gatz in May, officers reported observing “approximately 1,000 pounds of trash” at the site, which they said included tires, plastic bags, trash bags, aluminum cans and other items. They also wrote that they found that the campfire site had been left unattended by Gatz the previous day while still hot.
In a separate report filed by law enforcement from an encounter in February, one officer wrote that “upon arrival at the camp, I was flabbergasted by the amount of debris in the area”.
Investigators said that during that encounter, the debris consisted of three ladders, six to eight totes “overfilled with debris”, five 55-gallon drums, eight tires, multiple bicycle frames, 5 gallons of motor oil, plywood and other “miscellaneous lumber”, and they wrote that trash was scattered over approximately half an acre of Forest Service land and creating what officers described as public safety concerns.
In a separate report from July 2025, officers said they observed what they described as a “large messy campsite” while patrolling the area due to complaints “from the district office abut one large messy camp”.
“There was roughly half an acre of resources ruined due to so much trash and goods on the ground for an extended period of time,” the officer wrote.
This week, after Gatz pleaded guilty, he was sentenced to time served and three years of probation, according to court records.
A representative for Gatz did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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