Aidan O’Connell has bounced up and down the Las Vegas Raiders’ depth chart pretty much from the moment he was drafted.
When the 2023 fourth-round pick was first added to the Raiders’ roster, he was the third-string quarterback behind Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer. But after a strong preseason, while the other two quarterbacks struggled during the regular season and Josh McDaniels was eventually fired as head coach, O’Connell surpassed Garoppolo and Hoyer, making 10 starts as a rookie.
The Purdue
product played well enough to post a 5-5 record as a starter but not good enough to be handed the job moving forward. So, the Raiders signed Gardner Minshew to compete with O’Connell in 2024, with the former winning the battle in training camp. However, Minshew struggled and Antonio Pierce turned to O’Connell in Week 6, only for the latter to suffer an injury two weeks later and have a stint on injured reserve.
Then, O’Connell spent all of last season as the third-stringer behind Geno Smith and Kenny Pickett, playing in just one game and for his third head coach in as many years, Pete Carroll, who was eventually fired.
Between bouncing back and forth between the top and bottom of the depht chart, and having going on four head coaches and seven offensive coordinators (inlcuding interims), the four-year pro has been through the wringer in Las Vegas.
“I joke that I had one play caller and one head coach my entire six years at Purdue, and so I think by the law of averages, I think something like this was coming my way,” O’Connell, after minicamp on June 10, said of the Raiders’ coaching turnover. “Obviously, didn’t expect it to be like this, but I’ve learned there are no wasted years in the NFL. Even when you’re losing, even when things are hard, you can still learn a lot. And I’ve learned a lot, even last year.
“I only played in our last game for three quarters but learned a bunch just sitting on the sideline and watching. And being able to interact with a lot of coordinators I think has been good for me to really learn what I like, to learn what I think is the best way to play quarterback, the best way to play football.
“…You can complain about it, [but] I really realize people really don’t care about that very much. Like people talk about a little bit having a lot of coordinators or coaches, but if I go out there and throw interceptions, no one’s really feeling bad for me. You got to produce in the NFL, and so besides my wife and my parents, no one’s really going to feel bad for me. So, I try to go out there and compete, no matter who’s calling plays or who’s out there.”
O’Connell certainly is taking the situation in stride and saying all the right things. But that doesn’t change the fact that the days of him potentially being the Raiders’ quarterback of the future are likely over. While entering the season as a backup—and a third-stringer at that—isn’t foreign to him, this training camp will be different because the future in the franchise is sitting in the meeting room with him.
If Las Vegas signing Kirk Cousins ahead of the 2026 NFL draft wasn’t a strong enough sign that the 2023 fourth-rounder isn’t in Klint Kubiak’s long-term plans, then using the No. 1 pick on Fernando Mendoza is. Facing another situation where he’s looking at being a third-stringer can be mentally draining, especially for someone who once had a legitmate shot at starting. But O’Connell seems to be maintaining his edge.
“I’ve been competing basically every year since I was in high school, and so it’s really nothing new to me,” the backup quarterback replied when asked about the Raiders adding two QBs in the offseason. “Obviously, it’s new people, it’s a new playbook, but besides that, it’s still competing, trying to put your best foot forward every day, and quite literally, the only thing I can do is do my best. And so, just trying to focus on that, be a great teammate, and let it play out how it will.”
For a someone at the bottom of the roster, part of being a great teammate is making sure the guys ahead of you are ready to go when the Sundays in the fall roll around. So, part of O’Connell’s responsibilities right now is to help Mendoza get prepped for life in the league and all of the curveballs that come with it, something the going on four-year pro is well-versed in.
“Yeah, I definitely think the best player should play, and I think withholding information from Fernando or whoever it is, is not beneficial to me or to anyone else,” he explained on the dynamic within the position group.
“It’s only going to make us better as a room if we’re all understanding it in the same way and speaking the same language. And so, rising tides raise all boats. I’m trying to help the guys out that I can, and yeah, obviously still trying to compete. I want to play in this league and hopefully have a shot to, but there’s different facets to what you do in the room.
“…Kirk’s played a lot of football, and I’ve played a little bit, and the rest of us are a little bit younger but just trying to feed off each other and learn from each other, have good discussions with coaches, but obviously between the players has been super fun.”
As for how it’s been going working with Mendoza so far:
“It’s been super fun. Definitely feel like I’m in the position to help Fernando. I’ve seen a lot of things in the first few years I’ve been here, and so just doing my best to answer whatever questions he’s got. He’s obviously trying to do his best. He’s got a lot of questions, so we’re trying to help out any way we can.”
Who knows what the future has instore for AOC. Maybe he can stick around as a career-long backup with the Raiders, or maybe he’ll get another oppotunity to start or play with another team. But regardless, he seems to be heading into the 2026 campaign with the right mentality for a difficult and frustrating situation.
