Pierce says O’Connell ‘earned’ the right to compete for the starting job
With the Las Vegas Raiders signing Gardner Minshew in free agency and the assumption that the Raiders are targeting a quarterback in the first round of next month’s NFL Draft, Aidan O’Connell remaining the team’s starter seems unlikely. However, head coach Antonio Pierce gave O’Connell a vote of confidence during the league’s annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.
“At the end of the day, listen, Aidan O’Connell played his ass off. He did a helluva job for us,” Pierce said to NFL Network’s Steve Wyche. “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. …Like anybody else it’s all about competition. And if we can make that room the most competitive room on our team, the quarterback room, we’ll be a good football team.”
Now, the coach also said that he expects to spend a draft pick on another quarterback to, at the least, fill out the meeting room. Pierce also brought up general manager Tom Telesco’s strong track record of selecting quarterbacks, listing Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert as examples. Telesco was in the Indianapolis Colts’ front office when the Colts used No. 1 overall picks on the first two and was the Los Angeles Chargers’ GM when they took Herbert.
So, while O’Connell will undoubtedly face competition during training camp to remain the Raiders starting quarterback, he might be a bigger contender in that fight than previously thought.
In Other Raiders Links:
- Pierce expected to be aggressive for QB: “It appears first-year coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco are halfway there on their to-do list so far,” Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote. “It’s up to Telesco to complete the next step on the agenda, which is convincing a team at the top of the draft to trade its pick so the Raiders can select their next franchise quarterback.”
- Young players must step up: “Las Vegas did bring in premiere free agent Christian Wilkins to the position group as well as re-sign productive veterans John Jenkins and Adam Butler. If [Byron] Young doesn’t stand out or turn heads this offseason, he may get lost in the numbers game,” writes S&BP’s Ray Aspuria.
- Return game needs electricity: “This past season, the onus of both kickoff and punt returns was in the capable hands of veteran wide receiver DeAndre Carter, who is an unrestricted free agent,” Aspuria said. “…Carter had his shining moments as the primary return man but it’s unclear if he’ll be back with the Raiders for the 2024 campaign.”
- Four-round mock draft: NFL Media’s Chad Reuter had the Raiders take an offensive tackle in round one and then move up in the second to get their quarterback.