Brian Hoyer With High Praise for His Pick to be Raiders' QB1

Former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Brian Hoyer knows as well as anyone what Aidan O'Connell is capable of.

Jul 26, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Brian Hoyer (7) during training camp at the Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports / Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Brian Hoyer was a Las Vegas Raider for just a year, but he saw a lot happen within his position room.

The longtime NFL quarterback experienced the benching of former Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the rise of the then-rookie Aidan O'Connell, and he even made a start for the Silver and Black, all of which occurred throughout a chaotic season for a team that was searching for its identity.

As training camp begins for the Raiders today, the club hopes it has found that identity and will be in much better shape going into this new season. That will partially be determined by who starts at quarterback.

Based on his experience in the quarterback room last season, Hoyer is high on his former teammate, O'Connell.

"I backed up and mentored Mac Jones as a rookie," Hoyer said during his appearance on the "Up & Adams Show" on Tuesday. "Aidan O'Connell, for being thrown into the situation that he was thrown into -- I remember sitting there at the end of the season, he was kind of just shaking his head, and he'd thought like, 'I never even thought I'd play one snap with Jimmy being the starter and you being the backup.' And so, with what he was thrust into, the progress he made -- and look, I think Gardner Minshew's a great quarterback, but I think Aidan did something in those eight weeks where he earned the respect of a lot of those players, offensive and defensive players.

"So, I think you got to let them battle it out, but at some point, you got to make a decision. And for me, with my personal connection to Aidan, I think until he proves he can't do it, I think you go with him."

O'Connell started the final nine games of the Raiders' 2023 season, leading the team to a 5-4 record down the stretch. He established himself as the leader of the offense, and his ability to come in and take on that challenge as a rookie has, as Hoyer said, "earned the respect" of his team.

Hoyer appeared in three games for the Silver and Black last year. He was released by the club this offseason.

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