During the 2023 season, the Las Vegas Raiders used rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell more than they had planned. A fourth-round pick out of Purdue, he took over permanently for veteran Jimmy Garoppolo once Antonio Pierce was interim head coach, replacing Josh McDaniels.
Given the circumstances, the Raiders had to be pleased with what they received from Aidan O’Connell. He completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,218 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Turnovers were a bit of a problem at times, as they would be for any rookie. He threw seven interceptions and fumbled four times, losing two of them.
A lot of the Raiders’ potential success in 2024 will fall on Aidan O’Connell’s shoulders. He is going to battle it out in training camp with free agent signing Gardner Minshew for the starting job.
Winning that job and showing progress in 2024 would be huge for the franchise. They opted to not be aggressive on the quarterback market, a move that they could soon come to regret.
Alas, some people aren’t that high on Aidan O’Connell’s outlook. One of those people is Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report.
Ballentine recently put together a list of three Raiders players who won’t live up to the hype in 2024. Aidan O’Connell made the list along with rookie running back Dylan Laube and edge rusher Tyree Wilson.
“Minshew has revealed that he’s a good enough quarterback to keep a team around .500. He’s a capable starter who can suffice with good coaching and a strong supporting cast.
But he’s not the kind of gifted passer who is going to command a massive contract and win Super Bowls.
O’Connell is likely to wind up with a similar career arc despite showing some positives last season,” Ballentine wrote.
Ballentine isn’t even sure that Aidan O’Connell will beat out Minshew for the starting job. That is a worst-case scenario for the Raiders in the 2024 season.
Ideally, the Purdue product will take a step forward, showing the Raiders he can be counted on as a franchise quarterback moving forward. But, if he cannot even beat out Minshew, the team is in the same spot they were in 2023 after moving on from Derek Carr.
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