When he went to the podium after the Las Vegas Raiders’ satisfying home drubbing of the Broncos by a 27-14 score, there was a good chance that rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell was doing so for the last time as the team’s unquestioned starter. Raiders rumors have come fast and heavy at the quarterback position for 2024, either through free agency, via trade or in the NFL draft. All that chatter is a result of questions about whether O’Connell is the guy moving forward.
But the starting job is still O’Connell’s until he is otherwise informed. And at least one salary-cap expert is predicting that O’Connell will, in fact, be the Raiders starter in 2024.
That’s from the salary and contract experts at Spotrac. From a financial standpoint, no doubt, O’Connell makes a heap of sense.
“2023 4th round pick Aidan O’Connell (didn’t) exactly hit the ground running as the step-in starter, but with a non-guaranteed 3 year, $3M contract on the books from here out, he’s a no-brainer to stick around and continue to compete for the starting role,” the site’s NFL expert, Mike Ginnitti, wrote.
More than that, in his final analysis, Ginnitti predicts that, “THE RAIDERS PAY JIMMY GAROPPOLO HIS $11.25M PARTING GIFT, TAKING ON A $28.3M DEAD CAP HIT ($15.5M IN 2024, $12.8M IN 2025 IF DESIGNATED POST 6/1) TO OUTRIGHT RELEASE HIM NEXT MARCH. AIDAN O’CONNELL GETS THE KEYS AGAIN IN 2024.”
Aidan O’Connell on 2024: ‘That’s All Outside my Control’
Asked about the floating Raiders rumors around the quarterback position on Sunday, O’Connell turned the focus to the good feeling around the team in general, and dodged talking about his future specifically.
“Obviously, that’s all outside my control,” he said postgame. “A game like this, you know it’s the last time as a team, it’s not hard to get up for a game like that and be ready for that because you want to end on a good note and you want to make a statement to end the season. Like I said, I thought our guys did that. We had a good week of practice. And I think, truly, this week, we really enjoyed being around each other.”
O’Connell is not alone in being in limbo about his future with the Raiders. Antonio Pierce is an interim coach and Champ Kelly is the interim GM, and his future could be tied to what happens with those two. Kelly, after all, helped draft O’Connell and Pierce helped develop him. Both have an investment in him.
If Pierce and Kelly are retained, it likely means there is a better chance that O’Connell will keep his job, too.
Raiders Rumors Include Russ Wilson, Justin Fields
While Aidan O’Connell has become a name of note among Raiders faithful going back to his strong showings in the preseason, he does not have the big-time name recognition carried by some of the other quarterbacks that have been connected to Las Vegas via the ever-active Raiders rumors buzzsaw.
The Raiders have been linked to possible trades for Bears star Justin Fields, Kyler Murray of the Cardinals, or exiled Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. They could pursue a free agent along the lines of Baker Mayfield, or take a low-risk chance on a young quarterback who flamed out elsewhere, like Mac Jones, Trey Lance or Sam Darnold.
Or they could, as Ginnitti sees it, stick with eat the dead money left by Garoppolo and give more of a chance to O’Connell, who is slated to make just a little more than $1 million next season. It is a gamble. But a low-risk one.
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Raiders’ Aidan O’Connell Predicted to ‘Get Keys Again’ in 2024