Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell from OTAs

The Las Vegas Raiders have put their trust and support into QB Aidan O'Connell and the early results from his offseason of hard work are promising. He spoke after OTAs and we have everything he said for you.

Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders are experiencing an offseaon in which the entire franchise is engulfed in optimism, as Mark Davis has set the sail of the ship in one direction, led by GM Tom Telesco, and ultimately Coach Antonio Pierce.

That optimism set the groundwork for something special in 2024, and that sense of optimism is prevalent everywhere in the organization.

The Las Vegas Raiders have trusted and supported quarterback Aidan O'Connell and the early results from his offseason of hard work are promising. He spoke after OTAs, and we have everything he said for you.

You can watch everything O'Connell has to say below, or if you prefer, you can click right here to listen. Remember to read the transcript below.

Quarterback Aidan O’Connell

Q: How do you feel things are going so far? O'Connell: "Yeah, they've been good - up and down a little bit for the offense. Obviously, installing a new playbook, and so we've had some good days, we've had some not-so-good days, and I think a couple of weeks we kind of started slow at the beginning of the week, and then kind of picked it up. So, we're trying to be consistent, just like we would want to be in a game. But it's been fun to see the progression of our offense."

Q: Considering how you were thrown in last year and sort of took over the offense, is there a little bit more of a comfort zone for you coming in? I mean, there's a quarterback competition, but where is your mindset and your nerves? O'Connell: "Yeah, I think it is a change because it's a new offense. So, it's a little bit like starting over. But at the same time, it is my now second year in the NFL. I think all the extra rookie stuff I don't have to do anymore is really a weight off my shoulders. And so yeah, I definitely feel more comfortable. Like you said, it's obviously a competition, so I'm trying to put my best foot forward every day and do the best I can."

Q: How would you describe the competition right now? O'Connell: "I think it's been awesome. Gardner [Minshew II] is a great guy and he's really what you see is what you get, and he's been awesome with me. I think we do a good job of communicating with each other of what we're seeing, what we're thinking on each play because we are both trying to learn this offense at the same time together, and also at the same time we are both the leaders of the offense. And so, we want to make sure when we go out to practices, it's a good practice. So, we want to make sure the offense is running smoothly and we're executing. So, it's been a fun competition."

Q: How hard or easy isit for you to straddle that line between being friendly and being good teammates, but at the same time you're competing for the same position? O'Connell: "I think that's not unique to us. I think that's in any position really, but especially in this sport, there's only one quarterback in play. And so, I think we've both been around long enough and we've both had to compete really our whole lives, so I don't think it's really anything new for either of us."

Q: There's been a lot of conversation about what you did in the offseason, you were really here a lot and working on yourself. What all went into that? O'Connell: "Me and my wife are both from the Midwest. So, I think a big part of it was we didn't want to go back to the cold, we just wanted to stay in Vegas. But obviously just to be here with our strength coaches in our facility with the resources we have is awesome. And so yeah, we love this area, we love to be here and to live here, and so we wanted to stay and also get some great work in our facility."

Q: How much did that help you prepare for what you're doing right now? O'Connell: "I think obviously getting ready, getting my body ready, all the things that go into it, but also being around the guys, the guys that were in the building and getting some camaraderie with guys maybe I don't know as well throughout the offseason. And so, it was fun to kind of build those relationships, build the relationships with even the strength coaches who I got to know a little bit as a rookie, but you're kind of just thrown in the fire. And so, just to kind of take a deep breath and get to enjoy the time at the facility was fun."

Q: It's early June, you guys were getting some red zone work in today and it looked pretty good. What do you think the key is to making that a better part of the game for the for the offense this year? O'Connell: "Yeah, I think obviously things get tighter down there. And so, we have guys on the outside and really guys all over that can threaten the defense over the top and so when you can, I think details are just that much more important. So, I think focusing on the details. I think Coach [Luke] Getsy has done a great job of emphasizing that and in our installs making sure that guys are understanding what they're doing and not just the basics, but to the details to the nitty-gritty of each play."

Q: Whether it was intentional or coincidental, a lot of action to the tight ends as well. You threw some touchdown passes to your tight ends. How big of a factor can they be and what kind of comfort level does that create for you? O'Connell: "Well, I think we have a lot of confidence in really all those guys to make plays. Those guys are so impressive, they've got to run with the little guys and block the big guys and they've got to be really smart, too. And so, tight end is a really hard position to play and we're lucky to have a bunch of good ones. So yeah, they do a good job especially in the red zone at finding open spots."

Q: In regard to the competition, is there anything you picked up in the first couple of weeks from Gardner Minshew II? O'Connell: "Yeah, definitely. Gardner [Minshew II] is in his sixth year and he's been - I've only been in one system before this, and now he's been in a bunch. And so, he's seen kind of these similar plays taught a different way, schemed a different way. And so, I think communication has been open and again, he offers what he thinks for each play, and I do the same and I think it's a good back and forth."

Q: What are some of the similarities and differences you've noticed between your game and Gardner Minshew's game? O'Connell: "Yeah, I think I would say our stories are kind of both underdog stories and having to work to get to the point where we're at. But Gardner does a great job, like I said, commanding the offense, caring about attention to detail. Obviously, he's been around so he knows how important the little things are to playing quarterback and for the entire offense. And so yeah, it's been fun to just get to know him."

Q: You mentioned one system but three coordinators now in a year. To hear the different voices, how difficult has that process been? O'Connell: "I think it's definitely a change, but again it's not unique to me. Some guys do that in one year and even less than that. And so, it's just trying as fast as I can to really steal time back and try to continue to go over things over and over. The more you go over them, the more you'll feel comfortable with them, and they won't feel as foreign. And so, just trying to study as much as possible to try to get ahead. I try to recap the day and also get ready for the next day."

Q: You're coming to the end of OTAs and the offseason program next week. You have the minicamp and then it's over until training camp. Where's the balance for you in terms of still wanting to kind of stick with it and stay with it and trying to take a break so that you get that necessary break? O'Connell: "I think it's a hard balance. This is my first full offseason in the NFL, so still figuring out that balance. But I do love football. I love to work at football both physically and mentally, all the things that go into it. And so, I think I'm trying to find a good balance of spending time with my wife, spending time just with friends and family, but also knowing that this is my job. And this is a job that requires bringing it home with you and so sometimes that happens. But I definitely have not found that perfect balance yet. I'm still working on it."

Q: Are you going to stay around the facility after minicamp? O'Connell: "We'll be most of the time here. We'll be out for a little bit, but for the most part, we'll be here."

Q: Going back to the question about three systems, is it a matter of you fitting your style into a system or changing your style to fit within the system? O'Connell: "Yeah, I think it's kind of both. I think again, Coach [Luke] Getsy does a good job of even saying to us he wants to make it comfortable for us and wants us to feel comfortable when the play is called. He wants to know what we like, what we don't like, but at the same time there is a system in place, and they believe in what they do, and we're all buying into what's being taught and trying to execute that at a high level. So, I think it's a balance of like you said, being myself and finding how I fit in this offense, but also understanding the system is in place to obviously make yards, get first downs, score touchdowns."

Q: Gardner Minshew was saying how every quarterback he's been around has different ways of kind of sinking into new offense. He was saying he likes to hear voice memos instead of the traditional scripting of plays, everyone has their own tricks. What kind of tricks do you use to learn a new offense? O'Connell: "Yeah, I think the voice memos definitely, that's definitely helped me this year. I'll record my voice, record the scripts, and play it back to myself, and just try to go over it. I think that's the realest practice you're going to get is just hearing it back and trying to act like you're breaking the huddle and go execute a play."

Q: Did you fight to get onto Maxx Crosby's podcast, or that kind of happened surprisingly? O'Connell: "I did not fight. Maxx [Crosby] just one day invited me on. I don't even remember. I think he was rolling out or something and just asked. He actually I think asked if I want to, 'Come on the pod', and I'm like, 'I don't know what you're talking about.' And he said, 'Podcast', and I'm like, 'Oh, yeah, for sure.' So, that was super fun. We share some good memories on there because we've played Maxx when I was in college, and they beat us and that was a bad day. So, it was just a fun time to kind of go down memory lane a little bit."

Q: I know arm strength isn't really thought of as something a guy improves on once he's made it this far into the NFL, but it just looks like you're really driving on those throws between the numbers, down the field. Do you feel stronger at all in your arm, do you feel like your arm talent just in general has improved in year two as compared to year one? O'Connell: "Yeah, I think I'm always trying to improve. I'm definitely not known for over the top arm strength or anything like that, but I think you can make improvements and you can get better, and I think definitely trying to work this offseason to be functionally stronger, but also understand my motion better, working with quarterback coach, just a bunch of things that are important that I think go into playing quarterback. But yeah, I think I'm trying to improve on every aspect of the game, but throwing the football is definitely high on that list."

Q: You said that you weren't going to take this opportunity for granted after last year being put into the position as starter. How's your mindset really developed from that moment to now? O'Connell: "Yeah, I think trying to continue that. Trying to be grateful for where I am at. I get to play football for a living, I get to do it at a high level with a really cool organization that's bought into winning. And so, I'm trying to do my best to, like I said before, put my best foot forward. And I continue to say it, but find the balance of reflecting and being grateful for getting to the spot, but also trying to look ahead to hopefully win a lot more football games."

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