Barring a setback, Aidan O’Connell is expected to be back in the starting saddle for the Las Vegas Raiders in a Black Friday bout against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Raiders are preparing to start O’Connell on Friday against the Chiefs, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported, per sources informed of the situation.
O’Connell has been on injured reserved since breaking his thumb in Week 7. The second-year quarterback returned to practice on Monday and was listed as a full participant for Tuesday's walkthrough.
Vegas was put in a position to rush O’Connell back into the starting gig after Gardner Minshew suffered a season-ending collarbone break in Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos. Desmond Ridder remains the backup.
O’Connell lost the training camp battle with Minshew for the starting quarterback job to open the season. After ineffective play from Minshew, Antonio Pierce swapped signal-callers in Week 6. However, O’Connell made it just midway through his second start of the season before suffering the broken thumb.
O’Connell made 10 starts as a rookie, going 5-5. He displayed an ability to run the offense and get the ball out but lacked field-stretching tendencies that left the offense restricted. We saw some improvement during preseason action, but not enough for him to get the opening-week nod.
Last year, O’Connell started the Raiders' Week 16 win over Kansas City on Christmas Day. He completed just 9 of 21 attempts for 62 yards, but the Raiders used the ground game and key turnovers forced by the defense to come away with the victory.
At 2-9, the Raiders currently sit with the No. 3 overall pick. If the trend holds, they’d likely be in a position to select a quarterback after they opted out of drafting one 2024. For the time being, however, it’s O’Connell’s chance for another audition.