Desmond Ridder says he’s ready to go if asked to start for the Raiders

Late in RaidersIn the Week 12 game against the Broncos, Gardner Minshew went down hard and was taken to the locker room with an apparent shoulder injury. He was replaced at quarterback by Desmond Ridder.

With the revelation that Minshew is lost for the season with a broken collarbone, Ridder appears to have a legitimate chance to be the starter when the Raiders face the Chiefs next Friday. An opportunity that Ridder says he is ready for.

“Yeah, I feel like I’m ready to play,” Ridder said after Sunday’s game. “I’ve been here almost a month now. I feel comfortable with the offense. I’m ready to go, so whatever the situation may be, it’s not up to me, it’s up to the higher power, but I is ready for any situation may be.”

His head coach seems to feel a little differently about Ridder’s readiness to be the team’s starter.

“It’s not enough reps,” Pierce said. “When Gardner was in there, we gave him all the reps. He did some things in seven-on-seven, but to sit there and say we’ve seen enough? No. We’ve seen film of him playing in this league and obviously it was tough today. Sitting on the bench for the last 55 minutes and now you throw him in the ballgame, but he did the best he could.”

Ridder entered the game late in the fourth quarter, and on his second play, a rusher came around the left sideline to hit his arm as he threw, forcing a fumble that the Broncos gained on the scoring drive.

He then faced a soft Broncos defense and was able to drive down the field before eventually getting sacked in goal to go from the one. He plans to be ready to step in as a starter if called upon, just as he would at a moment’s notice during a game.

“You try to do as much as you can to stay warm, whether it’s in the first half when you come in here and get a stretch or at halftime, jump on the bike around the third quarter and throw in every drop,” added Knight. “So really, it’s just being ready to go. And I’m always ready to go. I want to make sure I’m never not ready to go in that situation.”

Former starter Aidan O’Connell is eligible to return from injured reserve this week, and if he’s ready to go, he figures to be the most likely to regain his starting job. But if he isn’t, then Ridder will have to get up to speed with his teammates in three days to face the best team in the NFL in their house at Arrowhead.

This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Desmond Ridder says he’s ready to go if asked to start for the Raiders