Revenge Will Be on Raiders Desmond Ridder's Mind Against Falcons
There have been few storylines surrounding the Las Vegas Raiders this season as the potential of recently signed quarterback Desmond Ridder facing his former team, the Atlanta Falcons, on Monday Night Football.
Ridder is excited to face his former team.
"Whether I play, whether I don't play, whenever that decision is made, like I’ve said every week, I'm excited and blessed to have the opportunity to be able to go out there and step out on the field and be able to go do and play the game that I love, the game that I grew up playing, the game that I’ve put a lot of time, work, sweat, and tears into. So whether it's against the Falcons - it doesn't matter who it's against. Any opportunity that I get to go out there and showcase my talents, it's an exciting time."
There has been some discussion about who will start this week for the Raiders, as quarterback Aidan O'Connell's knee injury was not as severe as initially thought. However, O'Connell has missed multiple days of practice this week, and at 2-11, it may not be worth risking his long-term health.
Ridder said that does not change how he plans to prepare for Monday night.
"No, it doesn't change one bit,” Ridder said. “As a backup, like I said, you’ve got to prepare as if you're the starter. You have to prepare as if, like I said, it could be any play. It could be the first play, it could be the 70th play. So for me, my mindset doesn't change. I come in same way Monday through Sunday and work the same way that I do."
He noted that he does not always get many practice repetitions as a backup, but that has not been an issue this week with O'Connell out of practice.
"That's just sometimes not how it works in this league," Ridder said. "Sometimes, as a backup, you only get a couple of reps throughout the week. You’ve got to get mental reps, and you’ve got to get a lot of reps when you're not out on the field. And so for me, it's just about getting as many mental reps as I can get, and then translating that onto the field. But obviously, with preparation in any of your guys' jobs, it'd be a lot easier to go out there and practice before you go do something. But like I said, as a backup, our job is to be able to go out there and be prepared for any situation."
It must be noted how unlikely it was for Ridder to face his old team this season, let alone as a starter. After starting 13 games for the Falcons last season and four games the prior season, Ridder was on the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad, far from a starting quarterback in the league.
Multiple low-chance events had to happen for Ridder to be in this position. While he said all of the right things this week, Ridder's departure from the Falcons was unceremonious.
He now gets to stick it to his old team, which is holding on to their last hope to make it to the postseason. For Ridder to possibly be the one to end the Falcons' playoff hopes months after they kicked him to the curb would be poetic.
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