Ripley began his career with Blackburn Rovers. After moving to Middlesbrough in 2009, he signed a two-and-a-half-year professional contract in January 2011. Ripley made his professional debut on 5 March 2011 in a 5–2 loss to Reading, conceding three goals after coming on as a substitute for Jason Steele. Ripley made his full debut on 14 January 2012, in a 2–0 loss at home to Burnley. He then went out on an emergency loan to Oxford United, after both their goalkeepers had suffered injuries. Ripley made his only appearance for Oxford United, in which he conceded a goal from Ryan Hall's free kick, in a 2–0 loss against Southend United the next day. After this, manager Chris Wilder was unhappy with Ripley's performance and decided to terminate his loan spellat the club. After returning to Middlesbrough, Ripley became the third-choice goalkeeper around the 2012–13 season and in January 2013 signed a new contract with the club. He moved on loan to Bradford City in August 2013, and later spoke about his hope of extending the month-long deal. In September 2013 the deal was extended until January 2014. The loan deal ended in January 2014. On 3 March 2014, Ripley joined Swedish side Östersund, playing in the Superettan for the remainder of the 2014 season. Ripley went on to make fourteen appearances for the club, having faced competition from Peter Augustsson and Aly Keita. Upon his return to Middlesbrough in October 2014, Ripley was praised by Peter Beardsley. On 31 July 2015, Ripley moved on loan to Scottish Premiership club Motherwell until January 2016. He made his debut the following day, in a 1–0 win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Ripley was sent out on loan again, agreeing a season-long move to League One club Oldham Athletic on 9 July 2016. Despite being considered for the first-choice goalkeeper spot at Middlesbrough, he moved on loan to Burton Albion in August 2017. Having returned from his loan from Burton prematurely, he departed once again and signed on loan for Bury in January 2018. He moved on loan to Accrington Stanley in August 2018.
In January 2019, Ripley signed for fellow Championship club Preston North End, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract.
International career
Ripley made his international debut for England U19 in October 2011. On 28 May 2013, he was named in manager Peter Taylor's 21-man squad for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He made his debut on 16 June, in a 3–0 win in a warm-up game against Uruguay.
