The Las Vegas Raiders won just four games during the 2024 NFL season under head coach Antonio Pierce. While he is certainly not absolved of blame, general manager Tom Telesco failed to field a competitive team in a brutal AFC West division.
This started with the quarterback position, as the team went through a preseason battle to determine if 2023 fourth-round pick Aidan O'Connell or veteran journeyman Gardner Minshew would be under center for the Silver and Black.
Neither ended up fitting the bill, and it cost both Pierce and Telesco their jobs. New general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll wasted no time making upgrades either, as they released Minshew and traded for Geno Smith this offseason.
Las Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith (7).
Las Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith (7).
Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
With Smith now on the roster, he will supplant O'Connell as the team's starter. For the first time since the acquisition, O'Connell addressed the media on Monday at the Raiders' team facility and broke his silence about Smith.
"It's been really a dream come true. You know, (I'm a) huge fan of Geno, his game," O'Connell said. "Getting to know him as a person over the last couple months has been super fun. Great player, fun to just bounce ideas off him. ... Definitely trying to learn as much as possible."
Most would assume that a player may harbor resentment for someone that pushed them into a backup role. However, O'Connell's maturity was fully on display, as it has been since he stepped into the league.
O'Connell became the team's starting quarterback as a rookie in 2023 when former head coach Josh McDaniels was fired and Pierce took over as the interim. He went 5-4 for the rest of the season and bought himself another year as a potential starter.
That came crashing down in 2024, however, when Minshew won the initial quarterback battle over him. In what eventually became a quarterback by committee, O'Connell went 2-5 in his second season as a starter.
Now, O'Connell will learn a new system once again under offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. But, barring an injury or extreme circumstance, the Raiders won't have to rely on him on Sundays during the 2025 NFL season.