Aidan O’Connell took over as the Las Vegas Raiders‘ starting quarterback midway through his rookie campaign in 2023, producing mixed results.
Going into next season, O’Connell does not seem guaranteed the starting job, but he understands the process and doesn’t seem too worried about a little competition.
“I’ve been competing for a long time,” O’Connell said, via Logan Reever of 8 News Now. “There hasn’t really been a lot of years where I’ve been the unquestioned starter going in so I’m used to competing. I had to compete to get to the spot that I’m in. And I also think it would be right to have competition in this league. … It’s my job to try and keep my job.”
O’Connell, who played his collegiate football at Purdue, was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round of the NFL Draft last spring.
He had a strong preseason showing, but began the regular season behind Jimmy Garoppolo on the depth chart, as Las Vegas had given Garoppolo a three-year, $72.5 million deal back in March.
However, Garoppolo struggled, clearing the way for O’Connell to be named the full-time starter in Week 9.
In 11 games overall, O’Connell threw for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 62.1 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 83.9.
He particularly showed promise over the last several weeks of the season, totaling eight touchdown passes and no picks over his final four games.
But did the 25-year-old do enough to earn the permanent starting job?
Almost certainly not.
That’s not to say that Aidan O’Connell cannot become the long-term starter for the Raiders. There is definitely a chance he ends up doing just that. But for now, Las Vegas is still understandably evaluating the situation.
The Raiders went 8-9 this past season.
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