The Thistle Archive

Edwards was born in Singapore and, despite having been in the country for only around 10 days after his birth, he was called up for national service for Singapore on his 18th birthday. He was able to wait until age 21 and have his citizenship renounced, therefore avoiding conscription. His father, Alistair, is a former Australian international and his mother is a Singaporean national. His older brother, Cameron, is also a professional footballer.

Edwards played youth soccer at the Australian Institute of Sport and for Reading (along with his older brother Cameron) before making his professional debut for Perth Glory on loan in 2013. At that time they were managed by his father Alistair and, again, featured his brother Cameron. Following his release from Reading, Edwards' went on trial with Crawley Town and trained with Manchester City in the lead up to Australia U-23's matches in September 2015. Edwards had previously captained the Australia national under-20 team, and was a member of the Australian squad that went to the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He was part of the U-23 squad that took part in the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship in Oman.

On 24 September 2015, Edwards signed a one-year contract with Scottish Premiership side Partick Thistle. Edwards made his Partick Thistle debut in a 3–0 win over Dundee United coming on as a substitute. Edwards scored his first goal for Partick Thistle in a 2–1 victory against Hamilton Academical at New Douglas Park on 19 March 2016. On 1 April 2016, Edwards extended his contract with Partick Thistle, until the end of the 2016–17 season. On the international front, Edwards took part in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship in Qatar. In March 2017 Edwards was called up to the senior Australian national team, although he never got the cap he desired. On 30 June 2016 Edwards signed a contract extension to stay at Partick Thistle until summer 2020. Thistle were relegated via the playoffs at the end of the 2017/18 season. Following that relegation, Edwards invoked a clause in his contract which allowed him to leave Thistle immediately.

On 6 June 2018, Edwards signed a two-year contract with Hearts. At the end of August 2018, Edwards was loaned to St Mirren. Ryan Edwards returned to Hearts in January 2019 after stating his desire to return and play for the club. Edwards made his debut in the Edinburgh Derby against Hibernian, helping them to a 1-1 draw. He made his first start the following week against Kilmarnock. Edwards scored in the 2019 Scottish Cup Final to give Hearts the lead in an eventual 2–1 defeat to Celtic. On 5 July 2021, Edwards joined Busan IPark of K League 2. On 7 March 2023, Edwards signed for Primera Federación club SD Amorebieta. He featured in 11 league matches as the club achieved promotion to Segunda División.