The constant chatter about the Raiders needing to find their franchise quarterback is nothing new to Aidan O’Connell.
Everyone from owner Mark Davis to coach Antonio Pierce to the armchair analysts on social media have talked about the importance of adding a championship-caliber quarterback. And with the Raiders (2-12) on pace to have one of the top picks in the NFL draft, that player might arrive in April.
Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward are the consensus top two quarterbacks available in the draft. Both have been projected to the Raiders.
O’Connell has heard it all.
You might be surprised how he reacts to it, though.
“I’m more used to that than if I was the unquestioned starter,” said O’Connell, who has fought just to get on the field at every step of his career.
As a walk-on freshman at Purdue, he was buried so deep on the depth chart that the line in front of him seemed to stretch from West Lafayette to Indianapolis. It took him four years before he became a consistent starter.
Anything less than a full-blown competition would seem abnormal. He did it at Purdue. He’s done it for two years in Las Vegas. And chances are nothing will change next season.
So don’t expect him to start looking over his shoulder now. It’s just business as usual.
“It’s really nothing new. It’s been at every phase of my life,” O’Connell said. “I’ve been through it. And I think it’s just made me a better player in the end. Whatever challenge comes forward, I’m looking forward to it.”
Back at practice
After missing Monday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons with a knee injury, O’Connell returned to practice Wednesday and appears on track to start against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. If not, Desmond Ridder will start for the second straight game.
These are interesting times for both young quarterbacks, neither of whom are guaranteed anything with the Raiders beyond the next three weeks.
O’Connell has two years left on his rookie contract, making him an ideal candidate to be a bridge starter for whoever the Raiders add. As a reasonably priced veteran backup, he has value in that role for the Raiders or as a trade chip for another team looking to fill that position.
He’s focused for now on getting on the field against the Jaguars. He refuses to obsess over what the next three games might mean for his future.
“When you put too much pressure on yourself, you put yourself in a bad position,” O’Connell said. “So I’m just going to lock in and focus on this week, and whatever is to come after that, I’ll worry about it later.”
Ridder, signed nine weeks ago when O’Connell suffered a fractured right thumb, is signed through the end of the season. The next three games are a chance for him to play his way into next year’s mix or create a market for himself outside of Las Vegas.
“You can only control what you can control,” Ridder said. “If you control your attitude and your effort every single day to come in and work hard, everything else should take care of itself.”
Gardner Minshew, who started nine games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 12, is also in the picture. The 28-year-old veteran is guaranteed $3.1 million of his $11.8 million 2025 salary. The Raiders could keep him as veteran insurance, though moving on from him would save them more than $8 million in salary.
Mutual respect
With the quarterback situation so murky, O’Connell and Ridder just take it day by day. They have built a professional bond in the process. The mutual experience they share of having to constantly fight for playing time has made their competition far more respectful than one might think.
“I’ve never made it to where we were going to walk into work every single day, and you have a disdain or a dislike for the person that you got to sit across from every single week,” Ridder said. “I’ve made it my pride to just go in there every single day, and it doesn’t matter who it is, to be friends. Because I know at the end of the day, he’s got my back, and I got his.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [email protected]. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
Up next
Who: Jaguars at Raiders
When: 1:25 p.m. Sunday
Where: Allegiant Stadium
TV: CBS
Radio: KRLV-AM (920), KOMP-FM (92.3)
Line: Jaguars -1; total 40½
