After suffering a left knee injury during Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay, Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell took part in a walkthrough practice on Wednesday and expressed his desire to play against Atlanta.
But Antonio Pierce, the head coach of Las Vegas, was not prepared to say that O’Connell would start in the game against the Falcons on Monday night.
Pierce remarked, “We will see how the week goes.” Although O’Connell appeared to have no issue walking when he entered the indoor facilities and changing room, he nevertheless adopted a cautious approach.
“Obviously, I can walk and move about and just do some things in the water,” O’Connell stated. “But I tried to get on the field and move around today, which I did.” “I am just trying to go forward and have faith that the training professionals will help me reach my goals.”
Desmond Ridder will start against his former squad if O’Connell is unable to play. Before being traded to Arizona, Ridder started 13 games for the Falcons the previous season. On October 21, he was cut from the Cardinals’ practice squad and signed by the Raiders.
“Whether it is against the Falcons or anyone else, any opportunity for me to go out there and display my talents is fantastic,” Ridder said.
He is got a couple opportunities to play this season. Ridder has played in four games as a backup, completing 28 of 44 passes for 239 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.
Now he aims to make his first start of the season. “It is not like I have been sitting for a few years,” Ridder explained. “Being able to go out there in the preceding week and gain experience has been huge. O’Connell has suffered multiple setbacks this season, including throughout the preseason.
He first lost his starting spot to Gardner Minshew. Then, when Pierce changed quarterbacks, O’Connell broke his thumb against the Los Angeles Rams, forcing him to miss nearly six weeks.
Two games after returning to the lineup, Buccaneers defensive lineman Calijah Kancey smashed him to the ground.
“I believe you need to be harsh in the NFL. “I do not believe I am exceptional in that regard,” O’Connell stated. “We have a lot of tough men. I believe it is interesting that the quarterback gets wounded and everyone talks about it, but we have offensive and defensive linemen who deal with things on a daily basis and no one talks about it.
At first, it appeared that O’Connell might be unable to participate following his injury against the Bucs. He was taken off the field with an air cast on his left knee. However, an MRI revealed a bruised bone, and O’Connell received positive news about his injuries.
“It obviously ached on the field, and my knee was not responding as the doctors had intended,” O’Connell explained. “So, sure, you absolutely fear the worse when going through it. But then I got some imaging done, and it seemed like the best-case situation.”
To ensure that there are enough healthy quarterbacks for Monday’s game, Las Vegas activated quarterback Carter Bradley from the practice squad on Tuesday. His father, Gus, is the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator.
“With injuries, we might as well have three quarterbacks up the way the season’s been going,” Pierce stated. “Carter’s done an excellent job giving us a glimpse at the practice squad. I believe that as the season progressed, it was practice, but you saw improvement.”
