Desmond Ridder will have his shot at revenge.
Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell is inactive for Monday night's showdown with the Falcons due to a knee injury, putting Ridder in line to start against his former team.
O'Connell, listed as inactive, is the team's emergency third QB, with Carter Bradley serving as the backup.
At 2-11, the Raiders are reeling from injuries and playing solely for pride. They've already lost their Week 1 starting QB, Gardner Minshew, for the year, and Pro Bowl pass rusher Maxx Crosby announced on Saturday he will have season-ending ankle surgery.
O'Connell marks another QB down, adding another setback to a 2024 campaign in which he's seen ups and downs galore. He initially lost the quarterback battle to Minshew to begin the season, then retook the mantle in Week 5 before fracturing his thumb two weeks later against the Rams.
His original four-week absence due to the thumb injury led Las Vegas to sign Ridder off the Cardinals' practice squad. With O'Connell now out again, Ridder gets the chance to make his first start in silver and black.
Although O'Connell is 0-4 with just 889 passing yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions this year, he still represented the Raiders' most consistent option under center heading into the final month of games. But it's not as if Ridder is without experience.
The 2022 third-round pick has started 17 games, all of which came with Monday's opponent.
Atlanta drafted Ridder as a potential QB of the future, but after he went 8-9 with 3,544 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over two years, the Falcons cut bait by trading him to Arizona during the offseason.
Ridder's serendipitous journey presents him an opportunity to play spoiler against Atlanta, which has dropped four straight and is now trailing the Buccaneers in the NFC South after appearing to have a divisional stranglehold in the beginning of November.
That's one storyline to keep an eye on when the Falcons (6-7) and Raiders (2-11) kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Monday.
