$118 Million QB Top Option for Raiders After Aidan O'Connell Breaks Thumb

The Las Vegas Raiders need another QB after Aidan O'Connell busted his thumb against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, and the easiest get/best player who is guaranteed available is free agent Ryan Tannehill .

All the Raiders need to do is offer Tannehill the starting job upon his agreement to join the roster and pay him a modest amount to step in as the team's QB1 ahead of Gardner Minshew II .

Tannehill played out his $118 million contract with the Tennessee Titans last season and has been available ever since. However, he made it clear that he didn't plan on returning to the NFL in 2024 until injury/some other circumstance opened up the opportunity for him to start right away.

“When Tannehill became a free agent in March, his plan was to basically become what Joe Flacco was last year. He did not wanna sign as a backup quarterback and wait … [for a possible] injury,” Ari Meirov of 33rd Team reported on September 12 . “He’s gonna wait for a team to have a season-ending injury to their quarterback, and they’re gonna need him. And then he comes in and becomes the guy. He still wants to play. He doesn’t want to sit.”

Las Vegas should be both willing and able to offer Tannehill what he's looking for after O'Connell went down Sunday. The Raiders had already replaced Minshew in the starting lineup in favor of O'Connell before they were forced to reverse that decision due to O'Connell's thumb.

Minshew subsequently threw for just 154 yards and 3 INTs on 15-of-34 passing in a loss to the formerly one-win Rams.

The Raiders, now 2-5, have to make a move to add a QB this week regardless. If they are serious about playing to win for the remainder of the year, that player needs to be better than Minshew. They may be able to find someone on the trade market, but that will cost the Raiders not only that QB's salary, but also at least one draft asset.

Tannehill, however, is valued at $7.7 million for the 2024 season. Pro-rated over the final 10 games of the campaign, that projection puts his cost to Las Vegas at around $4-$4.5 million on a one-year deal.

Related: Aidan O'Connell Suffers Broken Thumb Against Rams