![\"aidan](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2278657127.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell.<\/p>\n
The Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>\u2018 quarterback room has undergone a major transformation this offseason with the additions of Kirk Cousins<\/a> and Fernando Mendoza<\/a>. Cousins is the expected starter this season, while Mendoza is the quarterback of the future.<\/p>\n That looked like bad news for Aidan O\u2019Connell<\/a>. He\u2019s spent some time as a starter over his first three years, but his ceiling is likely a high-end backup. There\u2019s been a lot of speculation that the Raiders will cut or trade O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n Teams don\u2019t always keep three quarterbacks on the active roster, and Mendoza and Cousins aren\u2019t going anywhere. However, not everybody thinks the Raiders will move on from O\u2019Connell. NFL<\/a>.com\u2019s Nick Shook thinks the team will stick with three quarterbacks this season.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a fantastic question because I honestly believe this is one of those situations where you can completely justify carrying three,\u201d Shook said on the \u201cLocked On Raiders Podcast.<\/a>\u201d \u201cWhat he\u2019s done over the last couple of seasons has proven that he\u2019s gonna have a very long career as a dependable backup. And Kirk Cousins is no spring chicken. And while you like having Kirk Cousins in there as a veteran that can run the offense as Klint Kubiak desires, he said publicly months ago, he\u2019s not long for Vegas. Even that contract itself, the way it\u2019s structured, he is not long for the Raiders. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s worth risking losing O\u2019Connell via practice squad or maybe trying to move him. As your ideal long-term backup, your Gary Kubiak to John Elway, if you will, in an effort to try to save a roster spot for a position elsewhere, especially as you\u2019re standing right now with this team. So I believe that they will be one of those teams that carries three. You\u2019ll see the emergency third dresser, that sort of thing, with this team, and it\u2019ll be O\u2019Connell.\u201d<\/p>\n Should O\u2019Connell Be Raiders\u2019 Long-Term Backup?<\/p>\n The Raiders hope that Mendoza will be able to start every game for the foreseeable future, but that\u2019s not realistic. Even the most durable quarterbacks eventually miss time.<\/p>\n The team will need a capable long-term backup for Mendoza. O\u2019Connell could fit the bill. Similar to Mendoza, he\u2019s a quarterback who is going to try to win in the pocket and not make many plays with his legs.<\/p>\n O\u2019Connell also doesn\u2019t turn the ball over a ton, which is exactly what coaches want from a backup. He won\u2019t be the backup this year, but he could make sense as a long-term option if the team likes him.<\/p>\n O\u2019Connell in Contract Year<\/p>\n While O\u2019Connell could make sense as a long-term backup, there\u2019s no guarantee he\u2019d be back next season. He\u2019s in the last year of his deal, and he\u2019s going to want to go to a place where he can compete for playing time if he hits free agency.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why it\u2019s easy to see the Raiders trying to trade him and get something for him now before he can leave in free agency. At the same time, Las Vegas isn\u2019t going to get a haul for O\u2019Connell in any trade, so they may not be too worried about that.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAustin Boyd<\/a> has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. A Los Angeles native now based in Las Vegas, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes look at “The Shop.” More about Austin Boyd<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell. The Las Vegas Raiders\u2018 quarterback room has undergone a major transformation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":912627,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2065],"tags":[7,1744,393,2455,2454,6,525],"class_list":["post-912626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-las-vegas-raiders","tag-football","tag-las-vegas","tag-las-vegas-raiders","tag-lasvegas","tag-lasvegasraiders","tag-nfl","tag-raiders"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116710158093696069","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/912627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}