The Las Vegas Raiders are coming into the season with some great expectations. After years of struggling in the AFC West, Las Vegas underwent a major makeover in the last two years. This offseason, they made a move to get former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Geno Smith. Add to that their decision to draft RB Ashton Jeanty and the emergence of Brock Bowers last season, and Vegas is a sneaky contender for a Wild Card spot.
Unfortunately, the Raiders suffered a major blow in the final game of the regular season. Backup quarterback Aidan O'Connell suffered a wrist fracture against the Arizona Cardinals, per Pete Carroll.
“He fractured his wrist — he's hurt and it's going to be a while,” Carroll said, per Michael Baca. “That's a big blow for us.”
With that injury in mind, the Raiders are likely to find a potential replacement for O'Connell as he recuperates. Baca reports. Rookie Cam Miller filled in for O'Connell after he went down, but Las Vegas is hoping not to lean on the young quarterback as their primary backup.
“It's unlikely the Raiders will feel comfortable with a Miller filling that role, and the club will only have a short amount of time finding a temporary replacement,” Baca states in his article.
O'Connell was the Raiders' starter during the 2024 NFL season. He started in nine games, averaging 179.1 passing yards per game and throwing eight touchdowns to four interceptions. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in Week 13 that caused him to miss the rest of the season.
This season, Smith will take over as the Raiders' QB1 for the 2o25 season. Previously thought of as a bust, Smith revived his career in 2023 under Carroll. The former Seahawks quarterback won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 2022 after a stellar season in Seattle. Since then, Smith has been consistently solid for the Seahawks. He posted a career-high in passing yards last season with 4,320 and in completion percentage with a ridiculous 70.4% completion rate.
