Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell was carted off the field during a 28-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday with his left leg in an air cast.
It turned out O’Connell’s injury wasn’t as serious as initially thought. Diagnosed as a bone bruise on Monday, the injury hasn’t caused the Raiders to rule out O’Connell for their next game against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.
But Las Vegas did make personnel moves on Tuesday to be ready if that happened, signing quarterback Carter Bradley from the practice squad and signing quarterback Jake Luton for the practice squad.
An undrafted rookie from South Alabama, Bradley dressed for the Raiders’ 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 27 as a practice-squad elevation, but he did not play in the game. Bradley was up because O’Connell was out with a thigh injury.
At that time, Gardner Minshew was Las Vegas’ starting quarterback. Minshew broke his collarbone in a 29-19 loss to the Denver Broncos on Nov. 24 and is out for the season.
If O’Connell can’t play on Monday night, Bradley would be the backup for Desmond Ridder.
During the preseason, Bradley completed 17-of-34 passes for 225 yards with one touchdown and one interception and ran two times for 7 yards.
Bradley becomes the fifth South Alabama alumnus on an NFL active roster, joining Chicago Bears tight end Gerald Everett, Washington Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert and Pittsburgh Steelers punter Corliss Waitman.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at@AMarkG1.