FLOWERY BRANCH – The Raiders are prepared to start former Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder after an injury to Aidan O'Connell.
"Yeah, if no Aidan, it will be Desmond, as of now," Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said on Monday when talking to the Las Vegas media.
The Falcons (6-7) are set to play the Raiders (2-11) at 8:30 p.m. on Monday Night Football at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The Falcons have lost their last four games and the Raiders have dropped nine in a row.
The Raiders opened the season with Gardner Minshew II as their starter. He was later benched for O'Connell. They went back to Minshew and he suffered a broken collarbone in a 29-19 loss to Denver on Nov. 24.
So, the Raiders have been preparing different quarterbacks all season.
"Less is more," Pierce said. "Know what you are dealing with that quarterback. Play into the quarterback's (strengths). ... What works for the quarterback? What are they familiar with? What are they comfortable with? What can we execute at a high level? If we do that, we can speed up the game for the quarterback."
Ridder started the last four games of his rookie season with the Falcons in 2022. He started 13 games last season and was benched twice for Taylor Heinicke.
"Oddly enough, he's played in a lot of games," Pierce said. "What we do see is a guy who is very competitive and who takes his job seriously. He has an opportunity, if Aidan is not able to go and he's the starter, it's another great opportunity for him to showcase himself."
The Falcons are monitoring the situation closely.
"I don't know who's going to be the starter," Falcons coach Raheem Morris said on a virtual call on Monday. "Obviously, Aidan O'Connell got some really good news (on Monday). I heard that (his injury) is not as bad as we all thought."
Ridder was traded to the Cardinals for wide receiver Rondale Moore in March. He was cut by the Cardinals and signed to their practice squad. The Raiders signed Ridder off the Cardinals practice squad in late October. Ridder has played in four games. He has completed 28 of 44 passes for 239 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. He has a passer rating of 85.3.
"Just like all these young quarterbacks, they need opportunities to go out there and play," Morris said. "If he gets an opportunity to go out there and play, I'm sure he'll have a full practice week. He'll be prepared in the right way. He'll be ready for us."
The Falcons will have a pretty good book on Ridder, too.
He started 17 games over the past two seasons, but his turnovers led to the Falcons signing Kirk Cousins in free agency. Ironically, Cousins has tossed a career-high and league-leading 15 interceptions this season.
"I know we've got to get ready for him as well," Morris said. "He can run the football. He's talented. He's athletic. He's big. He throws (the) football."
Ridder was professional with the Falcons. He spoke to the media after he was benched.
"He wasn't able to lead our team into the way that we wanted him to go to the future," Morris said. "He's getting a second opportunity, like a lot of quarterbacks do in this league. We've got to get ready to play him or Aidan, and be ready for both of them, or anyone that shows up."
Rookie tight end Brock Bowers, the former three-time All-American at Georgia, has been the lone bright spot for the Raiders. He leads the league with 87 receptions. In the 28-13 loss to the Bucs last Sunday, Bowers was held to three catches.
"Finding different ways to move him around, put him into different positions," Pierce said. "He's now become a key factor for us, but also a key factor for teams to stop."
The Raiders run their offense through Bowers.
"We never go into the game not thinking about throwing to Brock, first and foremost," Pierce said. "He's our No. 1 option and probably our last option. But you‘ve got to be smart with the ball. You can't force throws."
Sincere McCormick has taken over at running back. Tight end Mike Mayer caught six passes against the Bucs.
"We are an efficient offense when we get Brock going," Pierce said. "Obviously, it was a big day for Big Mike (Mayer). It was good to get him going."
The Raiders are led on defense by end Maxx Crosby. He has 7.5 sacks, while the defense has amassed 42. However, the Raiders are last in the league in turnover differential at minus-17.
The Raiders did get three turnovers against the Bucs.
"I think just a conscience effort of our players, really," Pierce said. "You always talk about going to get turnovers. Well, go out there and just take them. Take them away."
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