The Las Vegas Raiders haven't been shy about shutting key players down at the end of the 2025 NFL season. After all, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft is on the line, and the Raiders seem keen on picking as high as they possibly can come April.
Even though it upset Maxx Crosby to be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign, it wasn't just him. Las Vegas also placed Brock Bowers, Jeremy Chinn and Jordan Meredith on IR, and they aren't seemingly rushing Kolton Miller back, either. Some call this tanking. We call it protecting investments.
Other teams in the NFL are doing the same thing, and the Raiders are the only ones getting flak for it. But I digress. Typically, teams would bench their starting quarterback in this situation, but Geno Smith has been under center for 13 of Las Vegas' 14 losses, so the fan base was fine with him suiting up.
Pete Carroll says Kenny Pickett and Aidan O'Connell will play in finale
However, Smith suffered a high-ankle sprain toward the end of Week 17's game against the New York Giants. Pete Carroll told reporters after the contest that it was unlikely fans would see Smith in the season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.
On Wednesday, Carroll spoke to the media again and was asked for an update on Smith's status for Week 18. Carroll reiterated that it was unlikely that Smith would play, and he practically leaked the Raiders' quarterback plans.
"[Smith]'s not going to practice today. I don't think that he's going to be able to make that recovery. We wish that he could, and I hate closing the door on any opportunity, but it's going to be really hard for him," Carroll said. "We're getting Kenny (Pickett) ready to go, Aidan (O'Connell) ready to go. Those guys are going to battle all week long. Kenny's been the two all season, so he's likely to be the guy that starts, but both guys will play. I want them to kind of share the game and give them an opportunity to play."
What an interesting way to end the season for Raider Nation. Fans have been clamoring for a change at quarterback all year long, and in the finale, they'll finally get it. However, instead of giving either of these players an entire game, the team will seemingly give them each half.
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This will play out like a preseason game, which may not be the worst thing for Las Vegas. They need to do some serious talent evaluation ahead of the offseason, and getting to see both backup quarterbacks live against the same defense will be a good measuring stick.
Of course, fans have already seen Pickett a handful of times this year, and he's had pretty mixed results. O'Connell has also shown his stuff to Raider Nation on several occasions over the years, as well, and the fan base feels pretty confident that both are good backups and nothing more.
Giving rookie 6th-rounder Cam Miller a chance is likely the druthers of the fan base, as they have only seen him in a preseason setting. Perhaps he'll be the emergency third-string quarterback, but it is frustrating to see an entire season go by, especially one like this, and not see the rookie signal-caller.
O'Connell scares the fan base a bit, as he is likely the best quarterback on the roster and gives the team the best chance to win. He has won plenty of meaningless games over the years and prevented the Raiders from getting their quarterback of the future, so fans are hoping he is good, but not great.
A loss on Sunday guarantees Las Vegas the No. 1 overall pick next April, and if that comes to fruition, it won't really matter, in the long run, who plays well in Week 18. Ideally, they're just the backup to a rookie quarterback. But they've got a major chance to prove themselves in the finale.