The Las Vegas Raiders have a number of issues to address throughout their depth chart, starting with quarterback. One issue the team doesn’t have, however, is a lack of defensive leadership. Maxx Crosby has that covered.

Speaking with ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez earlier this week, Crosby spoke about his 2023 season, during which he was brilliant but also limited by knee ailments. Despite earning 14.5 sacks, a career-high, and making his third straight Pro Bowl, Crosby believes he still has room to improve and has taken this off-season to make the necessary changes.

“It made me take a step back so I could take three steps forward, and I feel like that’s what this offseason was all about — my one goal is to be the best in the world, pound for pound, and I talk about it, I’m about it, I live it every single day and whatever street I’ve got to travel to get to where I want to go, I’m going to do that,” Crosby said. “So I’m exhausting every single resource I possibly have to have the best season of my career.”

Over the past five seasons, Crosby has blossomed into a monstrous defender, keeping the Raiders in contention at times when they had no right to do so. Fighting his way through multiple surgeries and several years of anemic Raiders offenses, Crosby has led the defense to strong seasons under adverse conditions.

“I had to get two major surgeries, and it’s been different, but at the end of the day, there’s not one street to get to where you want to go, there’s multiple,” Crosby said. “And for me, I trust the people around me, trust my team, everyone involved, to get me back to 100 percent. And then also taking that next step.”

This season, expectations will be low from the jump for the Raiders, as quarterbacks Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew settle an underwhelming depth chart battle for the starting position. Coming off his best season, however, expectations for Crosby will be extremely high, regardless of the team’s performance elsewhere.

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell remained the team’s starter in Week 15 despite struggling for several weeks under center.

He played Thursday night in a game against the Los Angeles Chargers, throwing four TDs – doubling his season record in just one half.

The decision to start O’Connell was made 24 hours before the game, as Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce seemed to still be deciding late Wednesday.

“We’re still evaluating,” Pierce told reporters Wednesday. “If there’s a chance to get better, a chance to improve, a chance to put us in position to win, then we have to get all the factors that go into it. … We’re going to do whatever it takes to put ourselves in position to win. And after today, we’ll have a better answer this evening.”

Pierce stood by O’Connell during the press conference, arguing that the young passer deserved another chance after “one bad game” (a 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15). But while O’Connell has certainly had better days than he did as the starter last weekend, he’s never been too effective. He has not led the team to a win since November 12 and has earned a 31.1 quarterback rating throughout seven appearances.

While replacing O’Connell felt intuitive, the Raiders also seem to have reasons to keep him on the field. Backups Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer have had their chances and proven similarly hapless, with Garoppolo proving especially disappointing given his three-year, $75 million contract with the team. The Raiders are also 5-8 and effectively eliminated from the playoffs, giving them little reason to look for immediate answers at the position. O’Connell is younger and stands to gain the most through experience.

Despite figuring as a potential contender for several seasons, the Raiders have consistently struggled and failed to capitalize on the star power they possess. Between Josh Jacobs and Davante Adams on offense and Maxx Crosby on defense, there are pieces in place for the team to make some noise in the AFC. Instead, the team performed so poorly this season that head coach Josh McDaniels was fired. Las Vegas’ culture has reportedly improved since, but winning has not yet followed.

Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce confirmed Thursday that rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell will be the team’s starter going forward, replacing Jimmy Garoppolo. The coach went on to say that O’Connell gives them “the best chance” as the team looks for ways to bounce back from a 3-5 record.

Pierce took over as head coach shortly following last week’s Monday Night Football game, which the Raiders lost to the Lions 26-14. Former head coach Josh McDaniels was fired by owner Mark Davis, ending a tumultuous and unsuccessful era for the team. It appears that O’Connell will take over under center to accompany this massive personnel change.

O’Connell, 25, has already made his first NFL start, as he had to fill in for an injured Garoppolo on Oct. 1 in a losing effort against the Chargers. When McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler were still in charge, it’s clear that they didn’t fully trust O’Connell. When Garoppolo had to miss Week 7 with a back injury, the staff decided to start 37-year-old journeyman Brian Hoyer in his place against the Bears. O’Connell eventually took over after Hoyer did little, but the team still lost 30-12. In his two appearances this season, he has thrown for 313 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Garoppolo joined the Raiders during the offseason, replacing Derek Carr with the intention of providing a spark for the underperforming team. Instead, he himself has become a focal point of the team’s mediocrity, missing some time with injuries and throwing nine interceptions to seven touchdowns in six games.

O’Connell will become an everyday starter in the NFL after four seasons at Purdue, where he started in his last two seasons. In 2021, he threw for 3,712 yards and 28 touchdowns, leading the team to a 9-4 overall record. The Raiders selected him in the fourth round of the 2023 Draft.