Late in the Raiders’ week 12 game against the Broncos, Gardner Minshew went down hard and was taken to the locker room with an apparent shoulder injury. He was replaced at quarterback by Desmond Ridder.
With the revelation that Minshew is lost for the season with a broken collarbone, Ridder would seem to have a legitimate chance to be the starter when the Raiders face the Chiefs next Friday. An opportunity Ridder says he’s ready for.
“Yeah, I feel I’m ready to play,” said Ridder after the game Sunday. “I’ve been here almost a month now. I feel comfortable with the offense. I’m ready to go, so whatever the situation may be, it’s not up to me, it’s up to the higher power, but I’m ready for any situation may be.”
His head coach seems to feel a bit differently about Ridder’s readiness to be the team’s starter.
“It’s not enough reps,” Pierce said. “When Gardner was in there we gave him all the reps. He did some stuff in seven-on-sevens, but to sit there and say we’ve seen enough? No. We’ve seen film, he’s played in this league and obviously today was tough. Sitting on the bench the last 55 minutes and now you’re throwing him in the ball game, but he did the best he could.”
Ridder came into the game late in the fourth quarter and on his second play had a rusher come around the left edge to hit his arm as he threw, forcing a fumble the Broncos recovered in scoring range.
He then faced a soft Broncos defense and was able to drive down the field before ultimately getting sacked in goal to go from the one. He plans to be ready to step in as the starter if called upon just as he would at a moment’s notice during a game.
“You try to do as much as you can to stay warm, whether that’s in the first half coming in here getting a stretch or in half time, hopping on the bike around the third quarter and throwing in between every drop,” Ridder added. “So really it’s just being ready to go. And I’m always ready to go. I’ll make sure I’m never not ready to go in that situation.”
Former starter Aidan O’Connell is eligible to return from injured reserve this week and if he’s ready to go, he figures to be the most likely to reclaim his starting job. But if he’s not, then Ridder will have to get up to speed with his teammates in three days time to face the best team in the NFL in their house at Arrowhead.
