Raiders Hope QB O'Connell Is as Good as Carr as a Rookie

The Las Vegas Raiders are hoping that should they have to call on rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell; he can perform as well as Derek Carr did in his first campaign.

Rookie quarterback Aiden O’Connell of the Las Vegas Raiders, who has not been active for any of the first three games this season, might get his first start as a pro on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

That’s because Jimmy Garoppolo is in concussion protocol after taking a hit to the head late in last Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and been declared out for Sunday.

So O’Connell or veteran Brian Hoyer will start for the Raiders this week against their AFC West rivals.

Garoppolo practiced on a limited basis on Thursday and Friday before being declared out on Saturday.

The Raiders have not had many rookie quarterbacks start in their 64-year history. Still, the best was Derek Carr, who was let go by the Raiders at the end of last season, apparently because he didn’t fit the offensive philosophy of Coach Josh McDaniels.

Some people have even suggested that McDaniels got rid of Carr to take the blame off himself for the Raiders’ disappointing 6-11 season.

Carr wound up in New Orleans this season and led the Saints to a 2-0 start before sustaining a right shoulder injury in a loss to the Green Bay Packers last week after taking the Saints to a 17-0 lead.

The 6-3, 215-pound Carr was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round (No. 36 overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Fresno State after growing up as a fan of the Silver and Black in the San Joaquin Valley city of Bakersfield.

Carr became the Raiders’ starting quarterback in the first game of his rookie season and spent nine years as the starter for the Silver and Black. He completed 20-of-32 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns in his first game as a rookie, but the Silver and Black lost to the New York Jets, 19-14 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

In that rookie season, Carr started all 16 games and completed 348-of-599 passes for 3,270 yards and 21 touchdowns with 12 interceptions, but the Raiders went 3-13 because of poor defense, something Carr had to deal with for much of his career with the Silver and Black.

Carr, who was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2021, led the Raiders to a 12-4 record and the post-season in 2016, when they lost to the Houston Texans, 27-14, in an AFC Wild Card game that he missed because he sustained a broken leg in Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts.

In 2021, Carr led the Raiders to a 10-7 record and back to the playoffs, where they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC Wild Card game, 26-19, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati despite Carr completing 29-of-54 passes for 310 yards and a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zay Jones.

Last season, Carr completed 305-of-502 passes for 3,522 yards and 24 touchdowns with 14 interceptions, but apparently, that wasn’t good enough for McDaniels, who dumped him for the last two games of the season.

All Carr did in his nine seasons with the Silver and Black was start all 145 games he played and is the Raiders’ all-time leading passer by completing 3,258-of-5,045 passes for 35,858 yards and 219 touchdowns to better the marks of Raiders’ all-time great quarterbacks, Kenny “Snake” Stabler, Jim Plunkett, Daryle Lamonica and Rich Gannon.

Back to O’Connell, who the Raiders selected in the fourth round (No. 135 overall) in this year’s NFL Draft out of Purdue, where he was a second-team All-Big Ten Conference selection the last two years. He started all three games this preseason and completed 43-of-62 passes for 482 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

“He’s still developing like most of the young guys we have on our football team now,” Raiders Assistant General Manager Champ Kelly said. “I think he’s done a good job of learning the system and gaining some trust with our coaching staff and his teammates.

“And as a young player, that’s all you want to do during this time. And so, he creates a quiet poise in the huddle prior to every snap, and I think our players appreciate that about him.”

We might find out if O’Connell is as far along as Carr at the same career stage.

The Silver and Black return to the road this week in Inglewood, Calif., to play the Los Angeles Chargers (1-2) on Sunday, Oct. 1, at 4:05 p.m. EDT/1:05 p.m. PDT.

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