The Raiders' quarterback carousel has turned back around to Aidan O'Connell.
The second-year quarterback will start for Las Vegas in their Black Friday game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce announced Wednesday.
"Feel good about Aidan," Pierce said on Wednesday. "He's been dialed in.
"He's got that laser-eye focus right now. Great opportunity for him."
O'Connell took over as the Raiders' starter in Week 6, completing 27 of 40 passes for 227 yards, one touchdown and an interception in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that got out of hand in the fourth quarter. O'Connell suffered a broken thumb the following week against the Los Angeles Rams, landing him on injured reserve and hindering the Raiders' initial plan for O'Connell to serve as the starter for the remainder of the season.
Pierce was forced to insert Minshew back into the lineup in Week 7 and ended up bouncing between Minshew and backup Desmond Ridder in recent weeks. Minshew suffered a broken collarbone in Week 12, ending his season just before O'Connell was available to play again.
With a short week of preparation, O'Connell, who's been a full participant in each practice this week, returns to the lineup Friday against the 10-1 Chiefs, who are tied for the best record in the NFL. The task is daunting on paper, but Pierce's team is familiar with their AFC West rivals, having scored an upset win over Kansas City on Christmas last season, a loss that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid later pointed to as a moment that motivated the Chiefs prior to their run to a second straight Super Bowl triumph.
This time around, the Raiders are in a worse place. They've lost seven straight and seem rudderless entering Week 13. Still, Pierce senses an opportunity for his 2-9 squad.
"Let's call a spade a spade, the best team in football against the worst team in football," Pierce said. "Let's change the narrative. Let's go out there and make it a dogfight, let's make it ugly, let's make it scrappy.
"It's Black Friday, let's create a little chaos, let's get back to Raider football and have some fun and some personality. Let it loose."
He'll be fortunate to send out his preferred quarterback for the contest. We'll see if O'Connell lets it loose enough to propel the Raiders to another upset.
