Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce and quarterback Aidan O’Connell will be speaking after the team’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.
O’Connell was out at Monday night’s game with a knee injury, but returned this week to play against the Jaguars.
As the Las Vegas Raiders prepare to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday to bounce back after the loss to a division rival in the Denver Broncos, there will be a new quarterback under center. It was announced by Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce that Aidan O'Connell will start as he gives the signal-caller a goal to achieve in the upcoming matchup according to Paul Gutierrez.
“Take care of the football. No turnovers, no turnovers, no turnovers,” Pierce said.
Gardner Minshew was the starting quarterback for the Raiders through the first five weeks of the season until he was benched in the loss to Denver. It will now be O'Connell who gets the nod as he is the incumbent starter from last season where he talked about if there is different preparation now according to Sports Illustrated.
“I was told recently, but it does not change honestly, just trying to prepare each day like I have been the starter,” O'Connell said about earning the starting job. “Just trying to do my best to put myself in a good position, so I am just going to keep trying to do that.”
“Honestly, on the scout team, you could get a lot of great reps,” O'Connell continued. “You are going up against the one defense every day. So I try to use every day on the scout time to try to better myself. Try to challenge myself as well as the guys around me. Any chance I get to better myself on the practice field, I am going to do my best to do that.”
Aidan O'Connell gets endorsement from Raiders OC
There is no doubt that O'Connell has the confidence from his coaching staff, as last season, he threw for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy spoke highly of the change from Minshew to O'Connell.
“I think the nice part about going through that competition part of it through the offseason, was that we all got to know each other pretty well,” Getsy said. “[I] think the competitiveness that he brings, the leadership that he brings and that he has brought even when he wasn’t the starter — he’s into the game plans.
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“He’s been in all that stuff, so there’s a confidence, and there’s a comfort in knowing we’re just going to pick up and roll with this guy. There’s no worry about any of that kind of stuff with Aidan.
“And I think Aidan has a lot of traits that you guys all saw last year, and we’re just going to build off of that and continue to grow,” Getsy continued. “I think as much as anything, he’s a guy who hasn’t played a ton of ball, and he’s going to just keep getting better each and every day. And we’ve seen that over the last five or six weeks, even when he wasn’t the guy.”
At any rate, the Raiders are 2-3 as there is a ton of season left to turn the season around, which starts this Sunday against the Steelers.
