The Las Vegas Raiders have already been active in the quarterback market this offseason, with the team signing veteran Gardner Minshew in free agency. And, there is a belief that the team could further address the position in the 2024 NFL draft.
Then there is second-year signal-caller Aidan O'Connell, who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft and finished out the 2023 season as the team's starter. O'Connell certainly didn't light the world on fire over his 10 starts, but he did show some promise over his nine-game stretch to close out the season.
And so much so, head coach Antonio Pierce said that the starting job will go through the Purdue product in 2024.
“At the end of the day, listen, Aidan O’Connell played his ass off," Pierce said last month. "He did a hell of a job for us. You’re talking about a kid that has the mental toughness to play in the National Football League. Whatever happens and whatever we do, it has to go through Aidan O’Connell. Being honest with you because he’s earned that right.”
When asked about the possibility of the team adding yet another quarterback in the NFL draft, O'Connell said he welcomes the competition.
“I have had to compete my whole life, and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” O’Connell said, per The Athletic's Vic Tafur. “The NFL is the best of the best, and you have to earn everything every year. That’s the way it should be. It’s my job to keep my job. It doesn’t really matter who they bring in.”
It remains to be seen if the Raiders will add a quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft, but one thing is for certain: Minshew, who nearly led the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs last season and has a clear advantage in experience, will be a tough out in O'Connell's quest to keep his starting job.
