The Las Vegas Raiders‘ preseason slate is off and running, and the Pete Carroll era unofficially launched with a tie against his former franchise. Thursday’s 23-23 outing against the Seattle Seahawks featured a little bit of everything.
Unfortunately for the offense, quarterback Aidan O’Connell fell under the umbrella of poor performers. Could that influence the likelihood of him being moved? One analyst believes so, but not necessarily in the way you think.
In an August 9 story for Bleacher Report, Moe Moton listed six backup signal-callers who could increase their trade value this preseason. O’Connell made the cut despite his lackluster first showing.
Analyst Says Aidan O’Connell Could Be Moved if Trade Stock Improves
In Seattle, O’Connell completed 18 of 30 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown. He also wasn’t sacked on the night. From a bird’s eye view, that doesn’t look like a bad stat line. A closer look, however, reveals the truth. He was picked off twice on the evening, leading to Seahawks points.
Moton believes that, paired with the emergence of rookie Cam Miller, could lead to O’Connell being given every chance to showcase his talents for other teams.
“On Thursday, O’Connell had a rough outing in a preseason matchup with the Seahawks, throwing for 205 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions,” Moton wrote. “Miller entered the game in the fourth quarter and provided a spark on a touchdown drive. Miller must show more to outright claim the primary backup position, but don’t be surprised if the Raiders continue to showcase O’Connell in hopes of shipping him out of a revamped quarterback room.”
A sixth-round pick, Miller is 24 years old. He shined in abbreviated action on Thursday for the Raiders. Going 6-of-7 on passes, he displayed efficiency every team values in a backup. With that said, as Moton admitted, Miller is far from out of the woods. He needs to continue stepping up in camp and preseason action. O’Connell, after all, is far more experienced.
In 20 regular-season appearances, O’Connell has made 17 starts. He has a 7-10 record overall, with 586 pass attempts on his ledger. Unfortunately for Las Vegas, their former fourth-round pick has an 85.1 passer rating in his career. Set to turn 27 to start September, it’s clear that O’Connell isn’t the quarterback of the future. Leaving Geno Smith without a proven backup is risky, but perhaps fielding offers for O’Connell isn’t a bad idea.
Raiders All-In With Geno Smith-Led Offense in 2025-26
Speaking of Smith, the Raiders have a lot of eggs in that basket. With Carroll joining the fold, the organization needed a viable field general for him. Given Carroll’s age and pedigree, he wasn’t going to embrace a rebuilding year. Enter Smith, who came over from Seattle back in March via trade. Now on what is effectively a two-year deal, Smith can be a competitive option now and a bridge for later.
Smith isn’t getting any younger, though, either. He’ll be 35 in October. He’s gotten a taste of what playoff football is like. He’s won games and put up big numbers. At this point in his career, Las Vegas hopes Smith can help transform their franchise on the fly. After ranking 29th in scoring and 27th in yards on offense a season ago, improvement is desperately needed.
Alongside Smith on offense are two proven pass catchers: tight end Brock Bowers and wideout Jakobi Meyers. Each of those players has logged reps with O’Connell but could elevate to new heights with a better quarterback at the helm. At running back, first-round pick Ashton Jeanty underwhelmed in the preseason opener. Despite the aftermath, not many folks are actually out on what could be an elite talent if things break right.
More is likely needed if the Raiders are to return to the postseason. That’s a lofty goal for this season. Still, it shouldn’t take much to improve on last year’s 4-13 record. This is a team attempting to shock people in the present while also fostering something sustainable.
Someone like O’Connell is stuck in the middle, which could grow more evident as the weeks go on.
