The New York Jets already took one quarterback from the Las Vegas Raiders; perhaps they can make it two.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said he would be “surprised” if the Jets don’t add “more or different” QB competition this offseason. One name he mentioned as a possibility was Aidan O’Connell.
O’Connell, 27, will turn 28 before the start of the 2026 season. The former Purdue product has one year remaining on his $4.3 million rookie contract.
Under-the-Radar QB Option for Jets
O’Connell entered the league as the No. 135 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Across his three years in the league, he has appeared in 21 games and has made 17 starts. With those opportunities, O’Connell has completed 62% of his passes, has thrown for 3,932 passing yards, and has a 20 touchdown to 11 interception ratio.
He has a 7-10 record as a starting quarterback at the NFL level.
Assessing the Raiders Depth Chart
Las Vegas currently has four quarterbacks on the 90-man roster:
- Fernando Mendoza
- Kirk Cousins
- Aidan O’Connell
- Jacob Clark
All NFL teams carry at least two quarterbacks. Some carry three. It’s extremely rare for any team to carry four on the 53-man roster.
With all of that being said, Mendoza and Cousins are obvious locks to make the roster in 2026. The question is, will the Raiders keep just two quarterbacks or three?
Rosenblatt described the Raiders’ quarterback room as “crowded,” which is why the Jets should keep an eye on them during the offseason.
There are two potential paths the Jets could pursue. They could remain patient and see if the Raiders simply cut/waive O’Connell at some point this offseason. If they did that, the Jets would be guaranteed to land him if they wanted him.
Throughout the offseason and through the first month of the season, the NFL’s waiver wire is based on the original draft order. The Jets held the No. 2 overall pick in the first round of April’s draft. That means they have the second bite at the apple of any team when it comes to the waiver wire priority.
In this unique case, if the Raiders cut O’Connell, they wouldn’t claim their own player off waivers, so the first team he could go to is the Jets.
The brass of general manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn should utilize this advantage to add talent to the roster in areas of need. If the Raiders don’t cut O’Connell and would rather trade him, the Jets could get involved in that way.
A late-round draft flip could get the job done. That would provide another arm in the Jets’ bullpen.
Bizarre Turn of Events
If the Jets pulled this off, they would be recreating the Raiders quarterback room from 2025.
Only three quarterbacks attempted a pass for Las Vegas last season: Geno Smith, O’Connell, and Kenny Pickett.
Pickett left the team this offseason and signed a deal with the Carolina Panthers in free agency.
The good news is that there would be familiarity between Smith and O’Connell. The bad news is the Raiders were the worst team in football last year and held the No. 1 overall pick.
I’m not sure that’s exactly the quarterback room you should be trying to model your team after. Beggars can’t be choosers, I guess *shoulder shrug*.
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