Pete Carroll confirms worst-case scenario for Aidan O’Connell

A rough preseason for Aidan O’Connell finished in the worst possible way Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Already undergoing a rough outing against the Cardinals that featured his fourth turnover of the preseason on a strip sack, O’Connell later appeared to suffer an injury to his throwing hand and did not return to the game.

While Raiders head coach Pete Carroll mentioned it was a wrist issue during the television broadcast of the game, it was not until after the game that he revealed the severity of the injury.

“It’s going to be a while. That’s a big blow for us,” Carroll told reporters after confirming that O’Connell suffered a wrist fracture.

#Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell fractured his wrist. Pete Carroll: “It’s going to be a while. That’s a big blow for us.”

— Paul Gutierrez (@PaulHGutierrez) August 24, 2025

Carroll also noted it would take 6-8 weeks for the injury to heal, but it is uncertain if that also accounts for time to get back into playing shape.

As a result, Cam Miller has won the backup job by default. Despite showing flashes throughout the preseason, it is hard to believe that Carroll would place so much faith in a sixth-round rookie to be the only option outside of Geno Smith.

It is now likely that the Raiders pursue another option to back up Smith.

O’Connell’s injury gives the Raiders an excuse to possibly pursue Anthony Richardson, who lost the starting job with the Indianapolis Colts to Daniel Jones and already has a confirmed fan in Carroll. Other options stuck in deep quarterback rooms that could appeal to the Raiders include Jameis Winston (New York Giants), Kenny Pickett (Cleveland Browns) and Taylor Heinicke (Los Angeles Chargers).

Losing O’Connell is a harsh way to close out the preseason, and now the Raiders are forced to make a decision with the cutoff date looming.