FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Las Vegas Raiders haven’t announced who will start at quarterback against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. Drake London thinks he knows, and he’s very happy about it.
The Raiders’ regular starting quarterback, Aidan O’Connell, suffered a knee injury in last Sunday’s 28-13 loss to Tampa Bay. His backup is “one of my best friends in this league,” London said.
That’s Desmond Ridder, who was London’s quarterback in Atlanta for the first two seasons of their careers. Drafted together in 2022, Ridder and London quickly became friends and have maintained that relationship since Ridder was traded in March.
“Oh, yeah, of course I talk to my guy,” London said. “His family, his little ones, I’m very immersed in that. It’s been good seeing them grow. Happy for him that he’s back out there. I told him if I see him before the game, I may have to punch him in the arm or something like that so he can’t do anything against us.”
London, Ridder and fellow 2022 Falcons draft picks Tyler Allgeier and John FitzPatrick maintain a very active group chat, Allgeier said.
“We all just send each other memes, make each other laugh,” Allgeier said. “It’ll be great to see my boy.”
London said Ridder “is starting on ‘Monday Night Football,’” but Falcons coach Raheem Morris said his team will prepare for both Ridder and O’Connell until Las Vegas makes an announcement.
“We have to get ready for (Ridder),” Morris said. “He can run the football. He’s athletic. He’s big. He can throw the football.”
Desmond Ridder and Brock Bowers connect for a late TD
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If Ridder does open the game Monday night, it would be his first start since leaving Atlanta, where he started 17 total games in 2022 and 2023. The Falcons traded Ridder to Arizona for wide receiver Rondale Moore less than two months after Morris was hired in January.
Moore suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice, and Ridder was released by the Cardinals before being signed to their practice squad. The Raiders signed him on Oct. 22. Since then, he has appeared in four games, completing 28 of 44 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown.
The Falcons selected Ridder in the third round of the 2022 draft. After sitting on the bench for the first 13 games of the season, he replaced Marcus Mariota late in that year and led Atlanta to a 2-2 finish. When the Falcons won their first two games of the 2023 season behind Ridder, there was optimism he might be the team’s long-term future at quarterback. However, Atlanta went 4-7 after those two wins, and Ridder was benched after a Week 15 loss to the Panthers.
“Des, when he was here, was a great young man, great person,” Morris said. “He wasn’t able to lead our team the way we wanted to go into the future, but he’s getting a second opportunity like a lot of quarterbacks do in this league.”
London called the Falcons’ decision to trade his close friend “the brutality of the league.”
“You can go from being so high to so low so quick,” the wide receiver said. “He’s been fighting his way back. I know he’s ecstatic about it and happy about what his role is now, but he wants something that is more solidified for sure.”
Backing Cousins at ‘the highest level’
The Falcons’ quarterback situation is much more clear. Not only is Morris not planning to bench starter Kirk Cousins, but his public support of Cousins grows each week. That’s intentional, the coach said Thursday.
“It’s our job and my job to back him at the highest level of certainty to get him to get out there and play better,” Morris said. “When you lead an organization, you have to have trust and belief in the people who got you there. Kirk got us into a point of contention. You have to have the resolve to stay steady-handed with a guy you believe in. I don’t want to be like some organizations that make harsh decisions on your people when they make their mistakes. He’s going to come out of this thing, and he’s going to go on a run here.”
Cousins has thrown eight interceptions and no touchdown passes in the last four games and is 17th in EPA per dropback (.07) this season. He said he can’t explain his recent struggles.
“I don’t have a great single answer,” he said. “At times I wonder if I’m trying to make the play happen instead of letting it happen. There’s that. Then I think at times it’s just fundamentals.”
He does, though, have a plan to make some changes heading into Monday’s game. He’s not sharing those, though.
“For the sake of not trying to tell the Raiders something, I will keep it close to the vest, but yes certainly there are things that you want to emphasize more and be more aware of,” Cousins said.
‘All these games become must-wins’
NFL coaches are eternally hesitant about putting more emphasis on one week than another, but Morris acknowledged that stopping the four-game losing streak is vital to the Falcons’ playoff hopes.
“I’d be lying to you if I said, ‘No.’ There is definitely more into this game than most games,” he said. “We are essentially playing playoff football right now. All these games become must-wins. We have to play playoff-type caliber.”
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