In a last gasp for hope, the Las Vegas Raiders have signed former Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Desmond Ridder. Ridder was on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. In a corresponding move, Aidan O’Connell has been placed on IR for four weeks. He exited Sunday’s loss in Los Angeles with a broken thumb on his throwing hand in the first quarter. Gardner Minshew came in off the bench and turned the ball over four times in a brutal performance.
Ridder Is Backing Up Minshew For Now
Given how brutal Minshew’s performance has been this season, it’s not hard to see why the Las Vegas Raiders made this move. The only other quarterback option on the team was rookie Carter Bradley on the practice squad. Minshew will be the starter for the upcoming game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Las Vegas. At the same time, Ridder could get a look from the Las Vegas Raiders during the game. Minshew has been incredibly shaky this season and even lost the starting job to the backup O’Connell once this season.
Ridder was not good in Atlanta. He came in with the expectation that he was going to be the franchise quarterback after being drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Cincinnati. He was benched repeatedly in the 2023 season for Taylor Henicke before being released after the season. In the preseason, he failed to beat out Clayton Tune for the backup job in Arizona. His career appeared to be headed nowhere before today.
O’Connell’s Injury Further Dooms the Team
As if things couldn’t get worse, O’Connell’s injury will take him out for four to six weeks. O’Connell wasn’t much better than Minshew but inspired more confidence due to possibly having slightly more potential. The offense has been relegated to Brock Bowers being the only playmaker. He recently recorded 10 catches against the Los Angeles Rams in one of the team’s few highlights.
The Las Vegas Raiders season has gone up in smoke. It started with immense optimism in the air following the hire of Antonio Pierce as the Head Coach. Everybody thought it was a slam dunk decision, especially after the momentum they built to end last season. Instead, the entire season has been a waste. The offense has somehow regressed from last season, the defense is stretched too thin, and Pierce is making the same bad mistakes he made last season as the interim Head Coach.
Conclusion
It’s rough to say but it likely doesn’t do much to help the Las Vegas Raiders. Some of Ridder’s biggest issues in Atlanta included slowly going through progressions and staring down the primary target before throwing them the ball. It led to countless turnovers when he was the starting quarterback. He showed much of the same during the preseason in Arizona. Ridder is not stepping in to be the savior of the Las Vegas Raiders, he’s being signed to give them a better option to backup Minshew than Bradley.
At 2-5, they reside in the AFC West basement by themselves. They resemble the 2006 “Bed and Breakfast” team with a strong defense and the league’s worst offense. They are the only team to lose to the Carolina Panthers, who just got blown out by the Washington Commanders. Davante Adams was shipped off to the New York Jets, a team in a similar quagmire. The team might be closing in on rock bottom.
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