Until their fate is truly decided, the Las Vegas Raiders will be connected to every available quarterback this off-season.
The obvious preference is that the team would draft a quarterback high in the 2025 draft and have a designated franchise player at the position. That said, with a soft stretch of games to end the season, the Raiders could easily push themselves out of contention for Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward.
In that event, the Raiders would have to go hunting for a bridge quarterback once again. This time, however, a higher-upside option is available: Justin Fields of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Fields’ best bet might be to join a team with a rookie quarterback and try to win the job out of training camp,” said The Athletic’s Jeff Howe. “The Raiders or Giants might make some sense, depending on who’s coaching those teams next year.”
This would not be the first time Fields has been linked to the Raiders. In September, shortly after signing with the Steelers, Fields said that the Raiders were one of the teams that showed at least preliminary interest in bringing him aboard.
“I’m not sure of all the teams, but there were a lot of teams that already had solidified quarterbacks and I didn’t want to do that. Chargers were one, Ravens were another,” Fields said. “Raiders, they talked a little bit. I don’t know too much.”
Fields started the season for the Steelers as their starting quarterback, going 4-2 in the first six games before ceding the role to Russell Wilson. His numbers were respectable, throwing for 1.106 yards, five touchdowns and one interception, as well as adding 289 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
While the Raiders are likely to draft a quarterback regardless of their position, the odds of them drafting one that is pro-ready right away significantly decrease with a lower pick. Fields provides a safety net in that event, with him and Aidan O’Connell serving as reliable, albeit unspectacular, stopgap options while the coaching staff develops their chosen rookie passer.
Fields is far from the first option for the Raiders as their starting quarterback for 2025. If things do not pan out in the draft order, however, those feelings could change drastically.
