The Las Vegas Raiders have overhauled their quarterback room this offseason, swinging trades for both Geno Smith and Kenny Pickett. That has left Aidan O'Connell's status up in the air moving forward given that he is now pretty clearly third on the depth chart.
But is O'Connell completely done in Las Vegas? Or does he actually have a chance of sticking long term?
More news:Atlanta Falcons' Trade Rumors Receive Concerning Update
Q Myers of the Locked on Raiders podcast has not thrown in the towel on O'Connell just yet and feels that he could potentially re-establish as the team's primary backup down the line.
"They let him get on to the initial 53-man roster, so that caught my attention and let it be known: they're not quite ready to give up on him," Myers said. "So that was encouraging from Aidan O'Connell's point of view because he hasn't really had the greatest circumstances since he's been a Raider."
That much is true, and Myers outlined some of the adversity O'Connell has faced since being drafted by the Raiders back in 2023.
"He's only in year three and he's on like year five when it comes to offensive coordinators. He's had multiple head coaches. He's dealt with circumstances," Myers said. "When you talk about a guy that's been able to deal with some stuff, he's had to deal with some stuff. He's had some things happen to him in his life in the NFL, so he's the guy that if he comes back in six to eight weeks, whatever, they're going to re-evaluate at that stage of the game."
O'Connell is currently sidelined with a fractured wrist, which was what prompted the Raiders to go out and acquire Pickett to begin with. But perhaps Las Vegas does see a future for the 26-year-old, who has shown some flashes in limited action.
In 20 games and 17 starts over two seasons, O'Connell has thrown for 3,830 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 62.6 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 85.1.
Will the Purdue product ever be a regular starter in the NFL? Probably not, but he definitely has a chance to stick around as a very capable backup.
For more on the Raiders and NFL, head to Newsweek Sports.
Related Articles
2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.