The Las Vegas Raiders have undergone plenty of turnover at quarterback this season amid plenty of poor results combined with inconsistent play amplified by struggles across the board offensively.
The franchise could make another change at the spot on Thursday night after Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Las Vegas Raiders’ QB Situation Remains in Flux
Update 12/14/2023: Aidan O’Connell is officially starting for the Raiders.
Las Vegas has turned to three different starting quarterbacks this season, to varying degrees of success. It began the year with Jimmy Garoppolo leading the charge, and then it turned to Brian Hoyer and Aidan O’Connell along the way as the offense sputtered.
O’Connell, who was a fourth-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft, has had the most recent opportunity at the position as the Raiders’ starter each of the last five weeks.
The offense got rolling in his first start of that string of games, which was also the first contest after Las Vegas fired Josh McDaniels. The Raiders took a 30-6 win and then won 16-12 over the New York Jets a week later but have since lost three straight games by narrow margins as the offense has failed to deliver enough scoring.
O’Connell most recently went 21-of-32 for 171 yards and one interception in Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Vikings, raising questions as to whether he would remain the starting quarterback.
Pierce told reporters on Wednesday that a decision had yet to be made on which quarterback would get the start Thursday night.
“I never said Aidan [O’Connell] wasn’t the starter, let’s just say that first and foremost,” Pierce said. “We’re still evaluating it. There’s a chance to get better, a chance to improve, a chance to put us in position to win. We have to look at all the factors that go into that. … We’re going to do whatever it takes to put ourselves in a position to win. After today, we’ll have a better answer to that this evening.”
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O’Connell sports arguably the best statistics of Las Vegas’ three QBs so far this season. In seven games played, including six starts, he has gone a combined 134-of-210 for 1,365 yards, four touchdowns, and seven interceptions while taking 17 sacks.
Garoppolo started six of the team’s first eight games before sitting ever since McDaniels’ firing following the Oct. 30 loss to the Detroit Lions. He has gone 110-of-168 for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions on the year, taking 13 sacks in the process.
Hoyer, meanwhile, has gone 23-of-42 for 231 yards and two interceptions across three appearances, including one start.
It seems as though the Raiders coaching staff have made their decision but just not announced it publicly. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday evening that, according to sources, rookie QB Aidan O’Connell is expected to remain the starter.
Time will tell which signal-caller ultimately gets the nod when the Raiders (5-8) square off with the Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) on Thursday Night Football.
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