The 2-3 Las Vegas Raiders are officially making a quarterback change, as the team will roll with Aidan O’Connell this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers as opposed to Gardner Minshew.
After a dispiriting 34-18 division loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Vegas must’ve felt it necessary to give O’Connell another chance at the job after Minshew struggled.
O’Connell played in 11 games for the Raiders last season, throwing for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions in that span. He’s played in two games so far this season with 176 yards, a touchdown and a pick to show for it.
While O’Connell could play well enough to keep the Raiders’ quarterback job for the rest of the 2024 season, Las Vegas feels destined to find a quarterback of the future in 2025.
Turning on the quarterback carousel in October usually doesn’t mean either guy will have the job next season unless the swap-out option is a rookie, like we’re seeing with the New England Patriots and Drake Maye right now.
Whether this means the Raiders will take a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft (Shedeur Sanders?) or go after a veteran free agent like resurgent Minnesota Vikings starter Sam Darnold is unknown. However, a new starting quarterback feels like all but certain for Las Vegas next year.
It’s a near lock at this point unless O’Connell pulls a Kirk Cousins and lives into his full potential as a mid-round draft success.
This quarterback situation may well mean this Raiders team has a pretty firm floor and ceiling in 2024, negatively compounded by the likely trade of wide receiver Davante Adams. That’s a bummer for fans.
Las Vegas might not make it to the playoffs this year, but brighter days could be ahead for the Raiders if they can figure out who the quarterback of the future is and continue to build out the roster.
That’s obviously a tall order and carries no guarantees, but it at least feels like Raiders fans will get the chance to see that plan go through sooner than later. This is a team to absolutely watch for in the 2025 quarterback conversation.
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