The Las Vegas Raiders entered the 2025 season with Geno Smith firmly entrenched in the starting quarterback role after sending the Seattle Seahawks a third-round pick to acquire him and giving him a contract extension. It appeared as if Aidan O'Connell would serve as his backup for much of the preseason, with sixth-round rookie Cam Miller slotted in as the emergency quarterback.
Those plans changed in the preseason finale, however, as O'Connell suffered a fractured wrist and was placed on injured reserve with the expectation that he would miss 6-8 weeks. The Raiders responded by acquiring Kenny Pickett for a fifth-round pick. The following day, Miller was waived and re-signed to the practice squad.
While Smith has struggled all season, Pickett has taken just seven snaps, and Miller has not been elevated on gameday. Las Vegas' quarterback room received a boost on Wednesday, however, as O'Connell was officially activated from injured reserve.
Aidan O'Connell is finally set to return from his preseason wrist fracture
O'Connell has appeared in 20 games, making 17 starts, over the first two seasons of his career. The fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft has thrown for 3,830 yards, 20 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and completed 62.6% of his passes. While he has shown flashes of being a starting-level quarterback, he has largely lacked consistency.
He returned to practice on Oct. 29, officially opening the 21-day window to return from injured reserve or miss the entire season. The deadline to be activated was Wednesday, with Las Vegas choosing to bring their backup signal caller back into the fold.
The signs that he would return had become clear just one day prior to this announcement. Pete Carroll addressed O'Connell's status in his weekly presser.
"He's been practicing a lot with us. He's getting his good work. We got to go talk about it, figure that one out, because the time is coming," Carroll said. "We've been getting him some work against the ones and all that to bring him along as fast as we can. He's had quite a bit of practice opportunities to get going. He's done alright with it, too."
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Later in the day, the Raiders created a roster spot for the third-year quarterback by waiving third-year safety Chris Smith II.
O'Connell's return likely won't have much of an impact right away; however, he does figure to slot in as Smith's backup, ahead of Pickett. He has been a full participant in practice for several weeks, which indicates that he should be healthy and ready to go if called upon.
Additionally, the coaching staff has not shown much faith in Pickett, which was evident when they opted to let a wobbled Smith return to the field against the Denver Broncos in Week 10. It is unclear if the Raiders will opt to carry three quarterbacks on gameday against the Cleveland Browns this weekend; however, O'Connell figures to be active for the first time this season.