The Las Vegas Raiders were able to keep things mostly quiet during their roster cutdowns. One of the most intriguing decisions they had to make was what to do with quarterback Aidan O’Connell.
Many teams choose not to keep three quarterbacks on the active roster, and with Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza ahead of him, his path toward playing is very long. Despite that, the Raiders have decided to keep O’Connell.
He is part of the team’s final 53-man roster. Now, this could always change in the coming days, but for now, the Raiders want to keep him in the building.
Cutting him was always going to be a tough call. He does have value, considering he’s started in 17 games in his career and has played well. His long-term future in Las Vegas is a bit murkier.
He only has one more year on his contract. It’s hard to imagine O’Connell wanting to play in a spot where he has no chance to start. This is going to be Mendoza’s team eventually. O’Connell’s best hope would be to be his long-term backup. That’s not a bad job, but the young quarterback may want to at least try to go to a situation where he can realistically compete for snaps.
Raiders Expect to Start Cousins
It didn’t appear that Mendoza had a real chance to win the starting quarterback job, but he hasn’t looked fully ready based on the last two preseason outings. Multiple reports have said that the Raiders are already planning to start Cousins.
Now, this has stirred some controversy. Many in the media want to see Mendoza start right away. However, The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen thinks it’s the smart move.
“Mendoza has shown enough of a mental baseline to play, and he’ll improve with reps. But starting Cousins is the right move,” Nguyen wrote. “The Raiders must find out how much the offensive line has progressed from the bottom-tier unit it was last season. Putting Mendoza in a situation where he has to run for his life would be bad for his development. If the offensive line improves and the playoffs look like they’re out of reach, Mendoza is absolutely ready to take over.”
Klint Kubiak Praises Cousins
It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Cousins won the job. He has worked with head coach Klint Kubiak in the past. He knows the coach’s offense very well.
He’s also a proven leader and can still play. Kubiak had some high praise for the veteran after the final preseason game.
“I just think he’s taking practice to the field,” Kubiak told reporters recently. “Like you said, he’s led scoring drives. We would have loved to lead three touchdown scoring drives. So, we’re not satisfied with field goals and that’s an area that we need to improve at. But I see a guy that’s leading the offense.”
Cousins likely won’t have the longest leash. There will be pressure to play Mendoza, so he’s going to have to play well early in the season.
Raiders Make Roster Decision on Aidan O’Connell