New Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce’s first decision may be to bench Jimmy Garoppolo and replace him with rookie Aidan O’Connell.
The Raiders are leaning toward O’Connell as their starting quarterback for Sunday against the Giants, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
O’Connell has already started one game, when Garoppolo was hurt, and he did not play well in a loss to the Chargers. But the Raiders may feel that it makes more sense to start a rookie and see what he can do than to stick with the struggling Garoppolo or turn to their other backup, veteran Brian Hoyer.
The report that the Raiders are leaning toward O’Connell came out before it was even announced that Pierce has replaced the fired Josh McDaniels, which may indicate that owner Mark Davis is the one who wants to see O’Connell start.
The Raiders host the Giants at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Raiders were listed as 2.5-point favorites, although the game is off the board at some sports books amid the uncertainty about what’s going on with the Raiders.
