At this point, there's not much hope to be had regarding this version of the Las Vegas Raiders. They're on a four-game losing streak, and sit last in the division with a 2-6 record. After trading Davante Adams a couple of weeks ago, they're already in 'seller' mode as it relates to the upcoming trade deadline.
All things considered, there's not much left to be had of the season. This creates an interesting situation relating to the quarterback position.
Las Vegas came into the season with Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew on the roster. O'Connell remains out for the foreseeable future with a broken thumb, and Minshew has played poorly throughout the season, being benched for O'Connell twice before he was injured.
With that in mind, it's time for the Raiders to turn to Desmond Ridder. Ridder was picked up off the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad a couple of weeks ago.
Ridder hasn't been consistently good yet in his career. He's had the chance to start for the Atlanta Falcons the previous two seasons, and was frustratingly inconsistent. However, he does have the most potential of any quarterback on the roster at the moment, including O'Connell.
With that in mind, what really is the point of trotting Minshew out there for the rest of the season? It would make sense if Las Vegas was trying to secretly tank, which Pierce has repeatedly said they're not going to do.
So, why not give Ridder a chance? If he's bad, it's not a big deal. It would be very difficult for him to be any worse than Minshew has been, so it's not like the Raiders would be worse off with Ridder leading the offense.
At the very least, it gives Las Vegas a chance to see if they do have anything with the young quarterback. The season is lost at this point anyways, so why not try and see what Ridder could do?
