Aidan

O'Connell

It certainly paints a picture of where Pete Carroll and John Spytek think of the quarterback room they inherited. The rookie would be expected to “learn from [Geno] Smith.” The Raiders probably are out of the first-round quarterback sweepstakes after acquiring Smith. But it does sound like they realize that Geno — entering his age-35 season — is only a short-term solution and are acting to make sure they have a backup plan in place that they believe in.

The Raiders are doing everything they can to improve their quarterback room ahead of next season. They were in on the idea of trading for Matthew Stafford before he decided to remain with the Rams, but are still willing to explore the trade market for another veteran starter if the price is right. One player to watch could be Geno Smith, who is in the final year of his current deal with the Seahawks and spent four seasons with Pete Carroll in Seattle. The Raiders are expected to be players for Sam Darnold, so it’s possible they don’t pursue a trade until Darnold finds a new home. Either way, it’s clear they hope to take a massive leap at quarterback in hopes of keeping pace with a division that already features Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Bo Nix.

Reed speculates that the Raiders could cut Minshew and notes that they will free up $3 million in cap space by moving on. The Raiders could save $6 million if they used a post-June 1 designation on his release. Aidan O’Connell enters the offseason as the starter for the Raiders, but new management seems likely to add a veteran at the very least. They could do more than that by putting together a big contract for someone like Sam Darnold.

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.