While Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce was impressed with quarterback Aidan O’Connell this past season, he has made it abundantly clear that O’Connell is not guaranteed the starting job.
Based on some of Pierce’s comments, one can even say that he doesn’t really want O’Connell under center.
But, the Raiders live in a world where O’Connell may very well be their starting signal-caller come Week 1 of 2024, and Pierce understands that.
When asked about O’Connell this week, Pierce said he needs to work on some things.
“Taking care of the football,” Pierce said, via the Raiders’ official YouTube account. “Managing the game. Putting points on the board. … I think he’s done a great job this offseason of being in the building, staying in the Las Vegas area and working on himself. One thing I’d love to see him do is be more vocal. You don’t want the quarterback being a church mouse. I don’t need him being a rah-rah guy, either, but when things are wrong, I need him to fix it and be vocal about it.”
So basically, Pierce thinks O’Connell needs to improve in all areas.
O’Connell, who played his collegiate football at Purdue, was selected by Las Vegas in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
He began his rookie campaign serving as Jimmy Garoppolo’s backup, but he ultimately supplanted Garoppolo as the starter midway through the season.
In 11 games and 10 starts, O’Connell threw for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 62.1 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 83.9.
The 25-year-old will be competing with Gardner Minshew—and potentially a rookie quarterback if the Raiders draft one—for the starting job next season.
We’ll get a better idea of where Aidan O’Connell stands after the NFL Draft next month.
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