The Las Vegas Raiders have enjoyed no stability at the quarterback position since the departure of Derek Carr in 2022. Jimmy Garoppolo and Gardner Minshew both bombed their opportunities with the Silver and Black, and backups Brian Hoyer and Desmond Ridder provided no value either.
There has been one mainstay amid all this chaos, however, and that is Aidan O'Connell. While he is a polarizing player among Raider Nation, he is a quarterback on a rookie contract that has apparently shown enough to remain with the team through three entirely different regimes.
While Pete Carroll and John Spytek were reportedly shopping O'Connell at one point in the offseason, and his name frequently comes up in trade talks, it seems like the third-year product from Purdue may be settling in at Raiders training camp.
Aidan O'Connell impressing at Raiders training camp under Pete Carroll
Carroll spoke to the media last week before training camp practices even began, and he was already praising O'Connell for his work throughout OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
"I think we got a good chance to see Aidan, and he's impressed our coaches," Carroll said. "His learning ability, his understanding of the game, his poise in handling situations. We've been through a bunch of situations already in the offseason. ... Aidan did a really good job, so we see some real strengths in him."
One of the coaches that the young signal-caller has impressed so far is new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, O'Connell's fifth play-caller in three years. Kelly also spoke about O'Connell after a few days of practice.
"Aidan, who's got experience, he's not a rookie, and in his first two days, he's been really, really sharp," Kelly said. "Two guys (O'Connell and Geno Smith) that, when defenses are trying to do some things, ... They're the ones that are pulling the trigger of your play. But to have those guys doing it makes it really easy."
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Coaches are generally pretty positive during the preseason, but both went out of their way to compliment O'Connell. They kept him around for a reason, and it seems like he will be the one to take the reins if Smith misses any time or the team needs to pivot for whatever reason.
Several reporters have corroborated the notion that O'Connell is performing well at training camp as well. He has thrown a handful of touchdowns to players like Jack Bech, Alex Bachman, Ian Thomas, and even Carter Runyon while running with the second team.
O'Connell has thrown two interceptions, one of them to rookie Greedy Vance Jr. The other, however, went to Trey Taylor on a pass that veteran wideout Collin Johnson dropped. He also took some reps with the first-team offense to prepare him for emergency situations, which should tell fans about the new regime's confidence level in him.
While he may not ever turn into a starting-level quarterback in the NFL, O'Connell is solid enough to keep the team afloat for a few games if things go sideways. This is especially true with a wildly improved play-caller and a better set of offensive pieces.
Smith benefited tremendously from having Carroll in his corner when he eventually took over as the starter for the Seattle Seahawks. He spoke about what helped him get over the hump in his career, and he credited Carroll a ton.
"He helped me change the way I spoke to myself," Smith said.
Hopefully, Carroll can do the same for O'Connell.