The Las Vegas Raiders have their starting quarterback for 2025 following the trade for Geno Smith. He may not be the long-term option if the two sides can’t agree on a contract extension but the team didn’t give up a third-round pick for him to be on the bench this season.
That’s bad news for Aidan O’Connell. Even if the Raiders drafted a rookie highly, he may have had a chance to at least compete for the starting job in 2025. His best hope now is to be Smith’s backup.
There’s speculation that the Raiders will still draft a quarterback but according to Tashan Reed of The Athletic, the team isn’t totally out on O’Connell yet.
“And if it doesn’t line up that way, the Raiders will be OK with rolling into 2025 with O’Connell as their backup quarterback, according to league sources,” Reed wrote in a Saturday column. “However things play out, Smith will start in Week 1, provided he’s healthy.”
O’Connell has been dealt a bad hand in both of his first two seasons. He likely should’ve been the Week 1 starter last season but the team chose Gardner Minshew. Despite having to take over for struggling quarterbacks in back-to-back years, O’Connell hasn’t played terribly.
He’s thrown 20 touchdowns to 11 interceptions in two seasons. If the Raiders don’t add a rookie with more upside in the draft, they could do a lot worse than having O’Connell as the backup. It seems like a long shot that the Raiders will cut him this offseason.