Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell was taken off the field on a cart after injuring his knee in the second half of Sunday’s 28-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The injury occurred after O’Connell threw an 8-yard pass to Jakobi Meyers on third down. Bucs defensive lineman Calijah Kancey chased O’Connell out of the pocket and pushed him from behind after the pass was thrown. Kancey was not penalized for the hit.
The Raiders have not commented on the severity of the injury. “It doesn’t look good… We asked (the medical staff) per usual… and will see what (the report) comes back like on Monday or Tuesday,” said Raiders coach Antonio Pierce about O’Connell’s status. “Prayers to him. I pray for a speedy recovery,” Kancey added. “I hope everything’s good on their end. I definitely took a knee and prayed for him.”
O’Connell left the game with the Raiders trailing 14-10, and Desmond Ridder replaced him on the next series. O’Connell, who had a career-high 340 yards and two touchdowns the previous week, was 11 of 19 for 104 yards and threw a costly interception on a 16-play drive in the third quarter. He also scored the Raiders’ only touchdown on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
Ridder led the Raiders on a field-goal drive in the fourth quarter and finished the game 12 of 18 for 101 yards. With O’Connell’s injury uncertain, Ridder may be the starting quarterback for the Raiders’ next game on Monday, Dec. 16, at home against his former team, the Atlanta Falcons.
“I’m excited and ready to go. … We’ve got to find a way to go out there and be able to execute on offense, defense, and special teams to be able to go out there and get a win,” Ridder said.
Las Vegas (2-11) has lost nine consecutive games. “I’m grateful for any time I’m able to be in this position… We know it’s a Monday Night game. We know, for myself personally, what the game will mean,” Ridder said. “But I’m excited and ready to get back to work.”
