Cambridge United Ruddy began his football career at
Cambridge United, where his team-mates gave him the nickname "The Iceman". He made his professional debut in the final match of the 2003–04 season at
Leyton Orient's
Brisbane Road stadium on 8 May 2004, keeping a
clean sheet and saving a
penalty. This was despite Ruddy's efforts, which included keeping nine clean sheets and conceding just 45 goals. before moving to
Everton in the summer of 2005 for a fee of around £250,000 that would rise depending on appearances. He was called into the England Under-19 squad in 2005 after being scouted by England goalkeeping coach
Ray Clemence and was touted by his manager
David Moyes as a future England goalkeeper. In September 2005, Ruddy signed for
Walsall on
loan; he made five appearances in
League One before returning to Everton. Ruddy made his first and only appearance for Everton in February 2006 in unusual circumstances. Nine minutes into the match against
Blackburn Rovers,
Iain Turner was sent off for handling outside the area. Since Turner was substituting for injured first- and second-choice keepers
Nigel Martyn and
Richard Wright, it meant that Ruddy was the only keeper left who could play. He kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory. In September 2006, Ruddy went on loan again. A one-month deal was agreed with
Stockport County, He then agreed a one-month loan with
Wrexham in February 2007, but failed to establish a place in the team during his time at the
Racecourse Ground and manager
Brian Carey decided against extending the loan beyond the initial month. Ruddy spent a week's emergency loan at League One club
Bristol City in April, and helped them move closer to promotion, by playing one match – a 3–1 win over
Carlisle United. He later joked that he would ask if he were eligible for a runners-up medal as City finished second and won promotion. In January 2009, he went out on loan until the end of the season to
Crewe Alexandra.
Motherwell (loan) On 24 July 2009, Ruddy joined
Scottish Premier League club
Motherwell on a six-month loan, to vie with
Michael Fraser and Sebastian Kosiorowski for a place in goal. Ruddy kept clean sheets during goalless draws at home to
Rangers on 12 September and away to
Celtic on 17 October. When the original loan expired in January 2010, the
Fir Park club decided that they wanted to keep Ruddy and fellow Everton loanee
Lukas Jutkiewicz for longer; an initial one-month extension was agreed, followed on 27 January by confirmation that both would stay at Motherwell for the rest of the season. Ruddy finished the Scottish Premier League season with 15 clean sheets from 34 appearances.
Norwich City 's promotion into the
Premier League in 2011 On 5 July 2010, Ruddy signed for
Championship club
Norwich City for an undisclosed fee, which Ruddy revealed in 2017 to have been £250,000. In 2012,
Paul Lambert revealed that on two earlier occasions he had considered signing Ruddy for clubs he'd previously managed: "It is funny but ... [we] ... went to watch him for Crewe at MK Dons ... but he had an absolute stinker. We also saw him when he was at Stockport and ... I decided against him at that time, but when
Fraser [Forster] went and it was clear we wouldn't be able to get him back again I knew John had had a really good season at Motherwell. There was that clamour to sign Fraser, but with the finances we just couldn't do that. I wanted somebody with the same stature, a big goalkeeper, and John had that." Ruddy made his debut for City against
Watford in the opening fixture of the
2010–11 season which Norwich lost 3–2 at
Carrow Road. He kept his first clean sheet of the season in a 1–0 away win against
Scunthorpe United on 14 August, followed by another against
Swansea City a week later which included a penalty save that atoned for his error that led to it. In Ruddy's first season for Norwich, he played 45 out of the 46 league matches and kept a clean sheet during the 1–0 away win against
Portsmouth on 2 May 2011 that confirmed promotion to the
Premier League. Ruddy started the
2011–12 season as the first-choice keeper again for Norwich in the 1–1 draw at the
DW Stadium against
Wigan Athletic. He followed this up during Norwich's first home Premier League match in seven years, a 1–1 draw against
Stoke City, with a penalty stop against
Jon Walters and a save denying
Matthew Etherington from a direct free kick. During the next match, he received his only red card of the season in the match against
Chelsea after a foul on
Ramires that led to a penalty. However, Ruddy's fortunes were reversed during the return fixture against Chelsea in January 2012 when he kept his first clean sheet of the season during a 0–0 draw at Carrow Road, making several impressive stops from
Fernando Torres and others. Norwich finished in 12th place, and Ruddy was voted Player's Player of the Season, a testament to Ruddy's performances that led to calls for his inclusion in
Roy Hodgson's England
Euro 2012 squad which were answered in the affirmative. He kept clean sheets in 1–0 wins against
Arsenal and
Manchester United, both during a run of form that saw him keep four clean sheets and concede just two goals in six matches, but was unable to return to action until 12 May 2013, in a 4–0 defeat of
West Bromwich Albion that confirmed Norwich's Premier League status for a further season Ruddy was ever-present in Norwich's league matches throughout the
2013–14 season, he stayed with Norwich and was ever-present in league matches as they bounced back to the Premier League via the
play-offs. All seven players who were being released were given the option of whether or not they chose to be available for selection in the one remaining match of the season. In the end, Ruddy was the only one who played. He was made team captain for the day (he had previously captained the side for one match in the 2013–14 season when
Sébastien Bassong and
Russell Martin were both absent) and saw out his time with the club by keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 win over Queens Park Rangers.
Wolverhampton Wanderers On 10 July 2017, Ruddy signed a two-year contract with Championship club
Wolverhampton Wanderers. His signing came days after the club's previous number one
Carl Ikeme was diagnosed with acute leukaemia. On 6 April 2018, Ruddy saved an injury-time penalty from
Gary Madine away at
Cardiff City in a 1–0 win, in a victory that took Wolves nine points clear of Cardiff. Ruddy became the team's main goalkeeper and was part of the team that won promotion to the Premier League as champions. He was named in
the division's PFA Team of the Year Ahead of its expiry, the club triggered their option to keep him for the 2020–21 season. Playing against
Liverpool in March 2021, Patrício collided with his own captain,
Conor Coady, and was stretchered off after receiving 15 minutes' treatment on the pitch. Ruddy came on as a
concussion substitute and played the remaining few minutes of the game. On 24 June 2021, Ruddy extended his contract with Wolves once again for the
2021–22 season. In May 2022, Ruddy said that he would be leaving when his contract expired, after five years with the club.
Birmingham City Ruddy signed a one-year contract with Championship club
Birmingham City on 14 July 2022. He was expected to provide competition for
Neil Etheridge, but went straight into the starting line-up, was ever-present up to the mid-season break, and kept seven clean sheets during that time. In November 2022, his contract was extended to run until the end of the 2023–24 season. He remained ever-present in Championship matches until he strained a thigh during the visit to
Millwall on 18 April 2023 and was replaced by Etheridge. Between them, they kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 win that ensured Birmingham's Championship status for a further season. His team-mates voted him Players' Player of the Season for
2022–23. The club offered him a new contract which he chose not to accept.
Newcastle United On 1 July 2024, Ruddy signed a one-year contract with Premier League club
Newcastle United. He made his debut for the club in a preseason friendly against Spanish side
Girona at
St. James' Park on 9 August, being subbed on in the second-half for
Nick Pope. On 9 June 2025, Newcastle announced that Ruddy would depart the club upon the end of the
2024–25 season. However he later featured on the bench in multiple pre-season friendlies, meaning he in fact signed a new contract without announcement from the club. ==International career==