O'Connell's the Latest, We Look at Raiders' Rookie QBs

Aidan O'Connell has done an outstanding job as a rookie starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders, and we look back at past rookie signal callers for the Silver and Black.

Rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell is 2-1 as a starter in his NFL career after victories in the last two weeks over the New York Giants and New York Jets that lifted the Las Vegas Raiders to .500 for the season at 5-5.

While O’Connell has not been spectacular, he has been steady, completing 66-of-104 passes, a 63.4 percentage, for 675 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions while being sacked 10, times and adding a rushing touchdown.

“He has been impressive, man,” Raiders All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams said. “He’s as cool as the other side of the pillow. The dude is not a rookie. By years, he is, but by action -- and, like you said, that poise he has in those situations, you don’t see that often from a rookie quarterback.

“The way he commands the huddle, the way he talks to us, the communication and confidence. Throw a pick down there early on in the game and the way he bounced back is impressive. So, I’m glad he is our guy.”

Aidan O'Connell is the latest in a long line of Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterbacks / Darrell Craig Harris, Raiders Today

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound O’Connell was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round (No. 135 overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Purdue, and it is something of a surprise that he is starting as a rookie, although he was projected as the future starter for the Silver and Black.

The Raiders have not had many rookie quarterbacks start in their 64-year history. 

Still, the best probably 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 then Coach Josh McDaniels.

Carr became the Raiders’ starting quarterback in the first game of his rookie season in 2014 and spent nine years as the starter for the Silver and Black. 

In his first game as a rookie, Carr completed 20-of-32 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns, 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. 

Still, the Raiders went 3-13 because of poor defense, which Carr had to deal with for much of their career with the Silver and Black, finishing with a 63-79 record as a starter.

Carr, who was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2022, 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.

Tom Flores was a rookie quarterback in the NFL when the Raiders were founded in the inaugural season of the American Football League in 1960, and he split time that season with veteran Cotton Davidson.

Flores, who was undrafted out of the University of Pacific in Stockton, Calif., in 1958, started 13 of 14 games as a rookie with the Raiders, compiling a 5-8 record while 136-of-252 passes for 1,738 yards with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, in addition to rushing for three touchdowns.

In his six-year career with the Raiders, Flores had a record of 30-31-3 as a starter and completed 810-of-1,640 passes for 11,635 yards and 92 touchdowns with 83 interceptions while rushing for five scores and was selected to the AFL All-Star team in 1966.

Later, Flores coached the Raiders to victories in Super Bowls XV and XVIII.

The Raiders selected 6-foot-6, 260-pound quarterback Jamarcus Russell with the first overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft out of LSU, and he turned out to be one of the biggest busts in NFL history—literally and figuratively.

Russell started only one game as a rookie. He lost it, completing 36-of-66 passes that season for 373 yards and two touchdowns with four interceptions.

In three seasons, Russell went 7-18 while completing 354-of-680 passes for 18 touchdowns with 23 interceptions before the Raiders admitted their mistake and released him.

Mike Rae, who led USC to a 42-17 Rose Bowl victory over Ohio State, was a rookie quarterback for the Raiders after signing as a free agent in 1976, as was the backup to future Hall of Fame quarterback Kenny “Snake” Stabler.

That proved to be important when Stabler went down with an injury, as Rae moved in and led the Raiders to a 14-13 victory over the Houston Oilers at Houston Astrodome with touchdown passes of nine and 33 yards to Future Hall of Fame wide receiver Cliff Branch.

Rae went 3-0 as a starter for the Raiders, completing 50-of-95 passes for seven touchdowns and five interceptions in three seasons, and was a member of the Super Bowl XI champions, but there was nowhere up for him to go with Stabler as the starter.

O’Connell doesn’t have that problem and could become a Raiders great.

The Silver and Black will head out on the road to South Beach to take on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST.

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