Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco have a major decision to make at quarterback this offseason.
The team’s previous brass signed veteran Jimmy Garoppolo last offseason. He lasted all of six starts before being benched in favor of rookie fifth-round pick Aidan O’Connell once Pierce took over as head coach for Josh McDaniels.
O’Connell played pretty well, completing 62.1% of his passes with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. But he seemingly didn’t display enough to be considered the Raiders’ quarterback of the future.
With Pierce and Telesco entering their first offseason as Las Vegas’ new power duo, rumors have been surfacing about a potential trade up in the 2024 NFL Draft for a specific quarterback prospect.
It makes sense. The Raiders have pretty much been in quarterback purgatory since former franchise guy Derek Carr earned his last real Pro Bowl trip back in 2017. Even then, some didn’t see Carr as the long-term solution for the organization.
With all of that as a backdrop, Pierce added a new layer to the Raiders’ quarterback plans in talking to the media during Super Bowl week from Las Vegas.
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Las Vegas Raiders could go in surprising direction at quarterback
According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, Pierce told reporters this week that the Raiders will bring in a quarterback to compete with O’Connell for the starting job.
This certainly is new information as evidence pointed in the direction of the Raiders adding a legitimate veteran starting quarterback either in free agency or via the trade market. They have also been linked to first-round prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft. The idea would be to add a stopgap option while bringing in a quarterback of the future.
The Raiders have recently been liked to Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. He will be released next month after being benched late in the 2023 season. Based on his pedigree and individual success this past year, it’s safe to say that Wilson would want to land on a team that guarantees him a starting job.
Pierce’s stance also seems to suggest that the Raiders are higher on O’Connell than most outside of the organization originally thought.
All of this is complicated by Las Vegas’ decision to bring in former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy into the same role under Pierce. He was fired by Chicago after struggling in developing young quarterback Justin Fields over the past two seasons.