Late in the Raiders 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 as 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.

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

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

“It’s not enough reps,” Pierce said. “When Gardner was there, we gave him all the reps. He did some stuff in seven-on-seven, but to sit there and say we’ve seen enough? No. We saw film, he played in this league and it was clear that today was tough. I spent the last 55 minutes on the bench and now you throw him in the ball game, but he did his best.”

Ridder entered the game late in the fourth quarter and on his second play, a rusher came along the left edge and hit his arm as he was throwing, forcing a fumble that the Broncos recovered within scoring range.

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

“You try to do as much as you can to stay warm, whether that’s in the first half, stretching here or at halftime, jumping on the bike around the third quarter and throwing between every drop,” Ridder added. “So basically it’s just being ready to go. And I’m always ready to go. I’ll 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’s most likely to win back his starting job. But if not, Ridder will have to catch up with his teammates in three days to take on the best team in the NFL at their home in Arrowhead.

This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Desmond Ridder says he’ll be ready to go if called up to start for Raiders