Raiders practice plans for Aidan O'Connell clearly didn't pay off in preseason finale
Aidan O'Connell has had plenty of chances to show that he is the future under center for the Las Vegas Raiders. However, his two-year career has been defined by inconsistency. He has appeared in 20 games, 17 of which he started, throwing for 3,830 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 62.6% of his passes.
While he has shown promise at times, there have been far too many moments where he simply did not look the part. The latter has been the case for the Raiders' first two games of the preseason as O'Connell threw for 343 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions while completing 62.2% of his pass attempts against exclusively backups.
Las Vegas made a move to acquire Geno Smith during the offseason, moving the fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft into a backup role. Amid reports that sixth-round rookie Cam Miller may also be in line to surpass O'Connell on the depth chart, head coach Pete Carroll revealed the franchise's plan to get the most out of the third-year quarterback.
Pete Carroll's plan to get the most out of Aidan O'Connell did not work out
O'Connell's struggles have been widely reported throughout the preseason and training camp. Carroll shared that he believed the pace of the offense was too slow with the quarterback under center.
During Wednesday's practice, Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly decided to put O'Connell on an 18-second play clock to speed up his tempo. Carroll admitted this when speaking to the media after practice.
"What we did today is turned the clock down on him, made it a lot shorter and made it really hard on him," Carroll said. "We’re trying to make it as difficult as possible and turn the noise up on him, and he got a little frustrated. I told him we’d slow it down a little because it was kind of unrealistic."
While he once appeared like he could become a long-term starter in Las Vegas, O'Connell has found his name in trade rumors in the first season under the new leadership. He entered Saturday's preseason closing matchup against the Arizona Cardinals with plenty to prove.
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However, O'Connell looked rough in the preseason finale as well. While he completed three of his four passes for 36 yards, he also had a brutal sack fumble, his fourth turnover of the preseason. His lone incompletion was another near-interception as well.
His night ended earlier than expected, as Miller replaced him in the second quarter after an apparent injury. The Silver & Black Sports Network's Jesse Merrick reported that he officially has a right wrist injury, so the team did not hesitate to shut him down for the evening.
O'Connell, unfortunately, may have played poorly enough this preseason that other teams wouldn't even send a sixth or seventh-rounder to Las Vegas in a trade for him. The Raiders may be stuck with him on the roster or have to cut their losses and part ways.
Final roster cutdowns are on Tuesday, August 27, and Carroll and John Spytek have some difficult decisions to make, especially at quarterback. Keeping three players at the position on the active roster is unconventional these days, so there's no telling what the new regime will do.