Former Las Vegas Raiders QB Sounds Off On Aidan O’Connell

The Las Vegas Raiders are one of the franchises in the NFL that will be having a quarterback competition in training camp. Aidan O’Connell will be going head-to-head with free agent signing Gardner Minshew.

A fourth-round pick out of Purdue in the 2023 NFL Draft, Aidan O’Connell showed some flashes as a rookie. The Las Vegas Raiders were more competitive with him under center than Jimmy Garoppolo, going 5-5.

Alas, it wasn’t enough for him to earn the starting job. He will have to beat out Minshew in training camp and the preseason to be under center in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers .

Minshew has more experience than O’Connell does, coming to Las Vegas from the Indianapolis Colts . He signed a two-year, $25 million deal, certainly hinting that the starting job could be his.

But, there are some people who believe that Aidan O’Connell will come out on top in this battle. One of those people is a former Las Vegas Raiders teammate, Brian Hoyer.

During a recent appearance on Up and Adams with Kay Adams , Hoyer discussed the quarterback situation for his former team. He believes that the starting job will be won by Aidan O’Connell.

“I think Gardner Minshew is a great quarterback, but I think Aidan did something in those eight weeks (starting) where he earned the respect of a lot of those players. Offensive and defensive players.

So I think you gotta let them battle it out but at some point, you have to make a decision, and for me, with my personal connection to Aidan, I think until he proves he can’t do it, I think you go with him.”

It would be a mild upset in many people’s eyes if Aidan O’Connell was able to beat out Minshew for the starting job. He will have a leg up in the competition knowing some of the coaching staff and roster from last season, but it will be a heated battle throughout.

Both of the Las Vegas Raiders options under center seem like game managers at best. If they are going to win games, it will be with a strong running game and defense, the pillars of Antonio Pierce’s game plan.

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