For the last two seasons, Aidan O’Connell has been a solid quarterback option for the Las Vegas Raiders.
He came in during the second half of his rookie season, playing impressive football as the Raiders won five of their last nine games. He did not turn the ball over in the last four games and threw eight touchdowns.
Still, the Raiders wanted to upgrade. They brought in Gardner Minshew II, but he did not provide the spark for the offense they thought he would.
Despite O’Connell playing markedly better than Minshew, the Raiders still wanted to upgrade at quarterback. That’s why they traded for Geno Smith on Friday evening.
Smith is expected to be the starter in 2025 under head coach Pete Carroll, the two reuniting after a year apart.
Many expected the Raiders to draft a quarterback at some point in the 2025 NFL Draft, and those plans have apparently not changed, despite the team acquiring Smith.
If Smith starts and the Raiders draft a quarterback to develop behind him, what does that mean for O’Connell?
With no intel and simply reading the tea leaves, it does not look like O’Connell is long for Las Vegas.
On gamedays, teams are allowed to dress three quarterbacks, but one must be listed as the emergency quarterback. The Raiders would likely start Smith and have the backup active as well, listing O’Connell in that role.
Would O’Connell go for that? He is capable of being a starter in the NFL, so he may not want to spend his Sundays on the sideline with a hat on his head and a tablet in his hand.
Or, the Raiders could keep O’Connell as the backup, having the rookie as the emergency QB on a de facto redshirt year. The Raiders still believe O’Connell can develop into a good quarterback, so they want to keep him around.
However, drafting a quarterback in this class raises questions about O’Connell’s long-term future in Las Vegas. There may not be enough room for him in the quarterback room, especially if the Raiders sign Smith to a long-term deal.
O’Connell will have to impress the coaching staff and organization more to prove that he can truly develop into what they believe he can be.
