Aidan O'Connell has a funny way of finding his way into the starting lineup for the Las Vegas Raiders. After being drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, O'Connell has started 17 games over the last two seasons, 10 of which came as a rookie, and seven of which came last season.
Of course, O'Connell did not begin either campaign as the starter. In 2023, Jimmy Garoppolo got benched after Josh McDaniels was fired, and in 2024, O'Connell replaced Gardner Minshew two separate times during the season, once for injury, the other time for poor performance.
This offseason, however, the Raiders found what they thought was the most surefire solution under that they've had in years when they traded for Geno Smith. Many thought O'Connell would settle into a permanent backup role, as the new coaching staff seemed to really appreciate his talents.
Raiders make Aidan O'Connell healthy scratch in return from injury
Unfortunately, O'Connell suffered a broken wrist in the preseason finale, and rookie quarterback Cam Miller was nowhere near ready to be a backup. This spurred general manager John Spytek's trade for Kenny Pickett, as he sent a fifth-rounder to the Cleveland Browns just before the season began.
Pickett is a high-level backup, so this complicated things for O'Connell's future in Las Vegas. If Smith was to be the franchise player and eventually replaced by a young signal-caller, only one of Pickett or O'Connell could remain with the Raiders in a long-term backup role.
O'Connell had his 21-day practice window opened recently, and earlier this week, he was promoted to the active roster, which fans had long awaited. Now, however, the question became whether O'Connell or Pickett would be the primary backup in Week 12 against the Browns with both healthy.
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Well, on Sunday, the Raiders made their decision. Before the game, the team announced its inactives, and they made O'Connell a healthy scratch, with him serving as the emergency quarterback. Effectively, this means that O'Connell is the third-stringer and slotted behind Pickett.
Things can certainly change in Las Vegas, and perhaps the team just wanted to give O'Connell more time to recover before throwing him into the fire. But that's a lousy excuse, as O'Connell has been practicing in a full capacity for nearly a month, and he wouldn't be active if he couldn't play.
After the Raiders sent a fifth-rounder to Cleveland for Pickett, the writing was on the wall for O'Connell, no matter how much the new regime seemed to appreciate him. With a year left on his rookie deal, there may be a handful of teams that could want him on a rental this offseason.
A trade wouldn't likely net Las Vegas anything more than a seventh-round pick or a late-round pick swap. But considering his future with the Raiders seems to be bleak, fans should be ready for O'Connell to be dealt or released this offseason if nothing changes.