Aidan

O'Connell

O’Connell’s tumultuous year comes to an end on a high note with 713 yards, three touchdowns, and just one interception in his final three starts, two of which were wins. Gardner Minshew initially won the starting job and the Raiders were reluctant to bench him despite his poor play. They eventually pulled the trigger in Week 6, marking AOC’s first start. He lasted less than two games before suffering a broken bone in his right thumb, sidelining him for four weeks. O’Connell returned to the starting role once again, only to suffer another injury, this time a bone bruise in his knee. He returned once again for a few starts late in the year. O’Connell was roughly as good as Minshew and definitively better than Desmond Ridder, solidifying his status as a viable backup. The Raiders are all but certain to draft a quarterback, but O’Connell has done enough through two seasons to stick with the team as a reserve or possibly a bridge option in 2025.

It certainly wasn’t perfect for the second-year pro, but he made more good throws than bad and avoided any truly poor decisions. He spent much of the afternoon locking onto Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers over the middle of the field and capitalized on a busted coverage for his second touchdown, but he showed good poise and made the plays his team needed. The Raiders will end the season against a Chargers team that could be playing for a home playoff game, so that should make it easy for any fantasy managers still playing in Week 18 to fade O’Connell.

Well, someone had to win, and no one deserved overtime of Jaguars-Raiders. O’Connell was effective when he targeted Brock Bowers (11-99 on 13 targets), but outside of that was not able to get much done. Enough to get the win, however, which may bum out some fans of Las Vegas. He should get the start again in Week 17 against the Saints, and fantasy managers should look almost everywhere else.

As expected, AOC was removed from the final injury report. O’Connell’s return provides the requisite stability for Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers to return reliable fantasy value against the bottom-barrel Jaguars pass defense. O’Connell himself could flirt with mid-tier QB2 numbers in this fantasy-friendly matchup. He practiced in full on both Wednesday and Thursday.

O’Connell must only make it through the week setback-free to get the start against the Jaguars. O’Connell is just a mid-tier QB2 in this one but he at least stabilizes things for the Raiders’ pass catchers. Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers should return to their usual productivity levels.

O’Connell went down with a bone bruise in his knee in the Raiders’ Week 14 loss to the Bucs. He missed Week 15, but even a limited practice today puts him on track to return this week. Desmond Ridder drew the start last week and threw for 208 yards, a touchdown, and two picks. He also took three sacks. O’Connell would be an immediate upgrade over Ridder, bringing back the PPR floor and ceiling for Brock Bowers, who has been held under 50 yards in consecutive weeks. O’Connell will be a fringe-QB2 if he suits up to face the Jags this week.

O’Connell didn’t practice all week and the team was still so desperate to get him active that they took him to the field for a pre-game workout on Monday. One week of exposure to in-game Desmond Ridder probably made Pierce pretty optimistic about O’Connell returning as soon as possible. We’d wait for positive practice reports before we started making O’Connell plans for superflex leagues, but it’s clear the Raiders want him back as soon as possible to finish out the season.

O’Connell failed to practice in any capacity this week but the Raiders took the decision to the wire, reportedly working him out prior to the release of inactives before making a final determination. He was deemed unable to go, paving the way for recent acquisition Desmond Ridder to draw the start against the Falcons. The Raiders will also be without standout defensive end Maxx Crosby who elected to have season-ending surgery on his knee this week. Also inactive for the Raiders are DE Charles Snowden, CB Sam Webb, and OL Andrus Peat.

Ridder was named as the Week 15 starter by Antonio Pierce last week, but that was before we knew Aidan O’Connell (knee) would try to play through the injury he suffered in Week 14. According to Schefter, O’Connell, who is questionable, will try to test things out in pregame warmups, but Ridder “is expected to start for now.” Assuming he gets the nod, Ridder will have a chance to face off against his former team who selected him No. 74 overall just three years ago. We’ve seen enough of Ridder to know he shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a low-end QB2 in fantasy leagues and should be kept off the radar altogether outside of 2QB/Superflex leagues.

O’Connell failed to practice at all this week but the team is taking a wait and see approach regarding his status for Monday Night Football. It would be Desmond Ridder under center for a reeling Raiders team also without star defensive end Maxx Crosby if O’Connell can’t go.