The Las Vegas Raiders reportedly know who their starting quarterback in Week 7 will be if Jimmy Garoppolo is unable to suit up against the Chicago Bears.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury history has followed him from San Francisco to Las Vegas. The 31-year-old has already missed a game this season and a back injury suffered in the team’s Week 6 win over the New England Patriots has made him uncertain for Sunday.
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In Week 4, Las Vegas made an interesting decision when it came to their starting QB spot with Garoppolo out. Instead of going the safe route and playing veteran backup Brian Hoyer, head coach Josh McDaniels instead went with rookie signal-caller Aidan O’Connell.
The coaching staff is high on the standout from Purdue and he delivered solid results in their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. However, last week, when Garoppollo went down with his back injury, Hoyer came in and was highly efficient. He hit on six of his 10 passes for 102 yards and put the final touches on their victory.
Las Vegas Raiders record: 3-2
It has made things more unclear when it comes to who will get the nod if their QB1 is not able to play this weekend. Well, a Raiders insider claims the decision on who will replace Garoppolo has already been made.
During a new edition of the “Las Vegas Raiders Insiders” podcast, Sports Illustrated reporter Hondo Carpenter definitively proclaimed “It will be Aidan O’Connell” who gets the keys to the offense as a replacement in Week 7.
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The decision is not completely surprising because of how well-liked the rookie is by the team’s coaches. Plus, if Garoppollo is not a long-term answer, as the speculation has been, the organization needs to see what they have in O’Connell to find out if he is a player that can be developed into an impact starting QB in the league.