Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins are going to get most of the attention this offseason for the Las Vegas Raiders when it comes to quarterbacks, but it might be too early to count out Aidan O’Connell. He is also competing for the starting job, and head coach Klint Kubiak recently signled him out as a player he has been impressed with.
Even with that in mind, O’Connell is facing a massive uphill battle. Cousins has played in Kubiak’s system before and has started 167 games in his career. Mendoza was just the No. 1 pick in the draft.
O’Connell opening the season as the starter if the other two are healthy would arugably be the biggest NFL surprise of 2026. O’Connell isn’t delsiional about where he stands, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to lay down.
He’s contiuing to compete for a starting job, but acknowledged that it may have to be elsewhere.
“Who knows what will happen?” O’Connell told reporters when asked about having starting aspirations. “Who knows where it’ll be? But that’s the goal.”
Cousins Praises O’Connell
O’Connell has gotten a bit of a raw deal throughout his career. He took the starting quarterback job from Jimmy Garoppolo as a rookie and played well considering th circumstances.
He likely did enough to earn the starting job the following season. However, he lost the quarterback battle to Gardner Minshew, who was awful before getting benched for O’Connell.
When Geno Smith got hurt last season, the Raiders have Kenny Pickett the nod over O’Connell. That’s not to mention that in just three years, O’Connell went through six different offensive cooridantors. In each of his seasons, the Raiders fired their offensive cooridnaotr midway through the season.
Cousins hasn’t been with O’Connell long, but thinks that he could still be an impact player if he gets into the right situation.
“I really believe strongly that Aidan’s best football in this league is ahead of him,” Cousins said. “There’s a lot about Aidan O’Connell where I say, ‘Why can’t this guy have a long, successful career in this league?’ Like, I’m just seeing all the traits that you have to have to be a great player in this league. So, I think he’s got a bright future and his best football’s ahead of him.”
O’Connell Knows He Has to Prove Himself
O’Connell very well could be a capable starter. It’s hard to know for sure because he hasn’t been given the chance. He’s not the most atheltic player and doesn’t have a big arm, but he’s accurate and tough.
At the very least, he could have a long career as a backup. Though he’s already dealt with a lot in his young career, he doesn’t want to make excuses and is still eager to prove himself.
“You got to produce in the NFL,” O’Connell said. “And so, besides my wife and my parents, no one’s really going to feel bad for me. So, try to go out there and compete, no matter who’s calling plays or who’s out there.”
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