According to Ian Rapoport, the Raiders are expected to start QB Aidan O’Connell in Week 9 and for the games going forward while they move Jimmy Garoppolo to the bench.
The fallout from Josh McDaniels‘ firing continues with Antonio Pierce named interim head coach and QBs coach Bo Hardegree promoted to offensive coordinator.
The Raiders offense has been terrible as of late, so this is a big opportunity for O’Connell to prove himself as an NFL quarterback.
O’Connell, 25, was a three-year starter at Purdue and was named second-team All-Big 10 in his final two seasons. He was drafted by the Raiders with the No. 135 pick in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
He signed a four-year, $3.84 million rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $509,380.
During his five-year college career, O’Connell appeared in 33 games with 27 starts and completed 66.7 percent of his pass attempts for 9,219 yards, 65 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. He also rushed for two touchdowns.
Garoppolo, 31, is a former second-round pick of the Patriots back in 2014. The Patriots traded him to the 49ers in 2017 at the trade deadline in return for a 2018 second-round pick.
Garoppolo was in line to be an unrestricted free agent when the 49ers signed him to a five-year, $137.5 million contract during the 2018 offseason.
He was set to make a base salary of $24.2 million in 2022 when he agreed to a pay cut in exchange for a no-tag clause. Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.8 million deal with the Raiders this offseason.
In 2023, Garoppolo has appeared in six games for the Raiders and completed 65.5 percent of his pass attempts for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
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