Antonio Pierce May Have Hinted at Who Will Be Raiders’ Starting QB in 2025

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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce.

Much of the talk surrounding the Las Vegas Raiders this season has been about their need at quarterback. They are one of the teams most expected to draft a quarterback in the first round this year.

However, Aidan O’Connell has been playing well for the team over the past couple of games. Head coach Antonio Pierce had a lot of praise for the young quarterback.

“Yeah, I think he’s been resilient, obviously go back to the quarterback competition in the spring and training camp,” Pierce said during his Monday press conference. “Thought he handled it like a pro. He was always ready to go. And then when we made a move to start him, I think the Rams week, obviously gives us a good chance there. And then he got injured and came back. I think he’s just a resilient player. I think it’s kind of like what we saw last year, just the more reps he gets, the more opportunities he gets, he makes the most out of them, and like I said, whenever he protects the football, he puts us all in a better position.”

Pierce later had much more notable comments. He was asked if O’Connell would be the Raiders’ starting quarterback next season and had an interesting response.

“Yeah, I think Aidan O’Connell will be a starting NFL quarterback,” he said.

O’Connell is under contract with the Raiders next season so it’s possible that Pierce could be comfortable keeping him in the starting role. That said, it remains to be seen if Pierce will be back next season so it may be a moot point.

Should Raiders Commit to Aidan O’Connell for 2025?

At this point, it’s clear that O’Connell is at least a capable NFL quarterback. He’s not particularly athletic but has good enough arm talent and accuracy to make big throws. He’s also developing into a leader.

O’Connell is unfortunate that he plays in a division that has Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Bo Nix all starting. All three of them are first-round picks who have proven to be difference-makers. The Raiders simply can’t afford to build around a player with limited upside like O’Connell. He should be on the roster but should only be considered for the starting job if the team can’t land a quarterback early in the draft.

O’Connell Talks Win Over Saints

The Raiders had their best performance of the season against New Orleans Saints in Week 17. The 25-10 victory was their biggest margin for a win this year. Though the team has long been out of the playoff race, it’s clear that they’re still playing hard for Pierce.

O’Connell has been impressed with what he’s seeing from his teammates.

“It’s impressive to see guys still fighting,” O’Connell said. “We definitely could’ve thrown in the towel a long time ago, but guys are just hungry. I think it speaks to the locker room we have of players who want to play hard, who want to work hard and want to go out there and try to win. … I think it’s just going to continue to fuel us.”