In light of Aidan O’Connell’s injury, the Las Vegas Raiders are wasting no time adding to their quarterback room, signing Desmond Ridder to the team, according to a team source.
Ridder was plucked off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad and will join the Raiders for Week 8. In two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Ridder threw for 3,544 yards with 14 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. During that time, he went 8-9 as a starter.
Ridder, a third-round pick out of Cincinnati in the 2022 NFL Draft, was traded to Arizona for wide receiver Rondale Moore in March. The 25-year-old signal caller has yet to play a snap this season.
Ridder’s signing comes after O’Connell suffered a fractured thumb in the team’s Week 7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams that will land him on injured reserve and sideline him for four to six weeks, a league and team source confirmed Monday.
O’Connell started the last two games after taking the starting job from Gardner Minshew. O’Connell has thrown for 455 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions on the year, while Minshew has 1,168 passing yards with four touchdowns and eight interceptions for the season.
In recent weeks, the Raiders offense saw wide receiver Jacobi Meyers sidelined by injury. Fellow WR Davante Adams was moved in a deal to the New York Jets last week after asking for a trade while first-round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers has emerged as a bright spot, leading the team in receptions (47), targets (60) and receiving yards (477).
On the whole, the team’s offense ranks 24th in points, 25th in total offense, 30th in rushing, are tied for the fifth-most sacks allowed (20) and the team’s quarterbacks lead the league in interceptions (10).
Could Ridder start for the Raiders?
The Raiders needed a healthy quarterback body as O’Connell broke his thumb on Sunday. They are also uncertain about whether to speed up the timeline on practice squad QB Carter Bradley, an undrafted rookie out of South Alabama. Ridder was benched twice by the Falcons last year, and they traded the 2022 third-rounder to the Cardinals. The Cardinals released Ridder when he lost the battle for the backup job to rookie Clayton Tune, but then re-signed him to the practice squad.
Minshew, who the team gave $15 million guaranteed this offseason, remains the de facto starter for now despite having four turnovers in the loss Sunday and a league-high 10 on the season. Ridder started 13 games for the Falcons last year. He completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,836 yards, 12 TDs and 12 INTs. — Vic Tafur, Raiders senior writer
(Photo: Norm Hall / Getty Images)
