The Las Vegas Raiders moved to 3-12 on the season Sunday, carving out a five-point win over the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars. Their fans? Unhappy, to say the least.

The Raiders have used three quarterbacks this year – Gardner Minshew, former backup for the Eagles, Aidan O’Connell, who backed up Derek Carr for the Raiders, and Desmond Ridder, who was unceremoniously relieved of his starting duties in Atlanta.

While Minshew seems the most successful of the bunch, with the highest completion percentage and nine touchdowns, his stats belie ten interceptions and 29 sacks – disproportionate even compared to his counterparts. The other quarterbacks haven’t been much more successful, and the Raiders’ biggest rusher, Alexander Mattison, has just 30.7 yards per game.

For the most part, the only bright spot for the team has been Offensive Rookie Of The Year contender Brock Bowers, the first-round tight end who has over 1,000 receiving yards through 15 games.

Besides the season ending, Raiders fans have looked with anticipation to the 2025 NFL Draft, hoping to acquire another rookie sensation (preferably a quarterback). Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward, as the two top quarterback prospects in the nation, are obvious targets for the Raiders if they secure an early spot in the draft – which they seemed primed to do, coming into Sunday.

The Raiders had lost ten straight and sat in slot number two, at which point they would be able to snag one of the top two quarterbacks. Instead, they won – and dropped to pick no. 6.

“We don’t do this to lose,” said head coach Antonio Pierce following the game. “We don’t do this for anybody’s fantasy football team. We don’t do this for anybody’s draft projections. None of that s— matters to us. The only thing that matters is winning, and that’s all we want to do.”

Whether a late-season win will help the Raiders in the long term is doubtful. At present, the Giants, Patriots, Jaguars, Browns and Titans are all slated to pick before them. The Giants, who have the presumptive no. 1 pick, will almost definitely pick a quarterback. Even if Las Vegas loses out in the last two weeks, they’ll need help from other teams to move closer to pick no. 1.

The Raiders play the New Orleans Saints (5-9) this Sunday, who have endured recent struggles of their own, before closing out the regular season against the Los Angeles Chargers (9-6).

The 2025 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 24-26, 2025.

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy leaves a player and a team at a possible crossroads.

According to conversations ESPN had with league sources, Garoppolo used a prescribed medication without permission from the NFL. He also will not appeal the suspension.

The Raiders are already faced with a difficult decision regarding who will start at quarterback in 2024. In seven games for the team last season, Garoppolo was heavily criticized for his poor play, throwing more interceptions for touchdowns before being shut down and replaced by rookie Aidan O’Connell, who arguably ended up playing better overall after the team’s late, albeit unsuccessful push to the postseason.

Now with the revelation that Garoppolo can’t even play to start the season, it would not be surprising to see the Raiders move on from their disappointing quarterback. Last March, the former New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers starter signed a three-year, $72.75 million contract, including $33.75 million guaranteed and was expected to stabilize a team in disarray. Additionally, Garoppolo was paired with head coach Josh McDaniels, who worked with him as his offensive coordinator during his time in New England.

Now with new coach Antonio Pierce taking the reigns of the franchise, on top of Garoppolo’s struggles and suspension, all the lines indicate the Raiders will have a new starter under center when September rolls around. If this is the case, the most likely scenario is the team drafts a quarterback and keeps or signs a veteran like Brian Hoyer.

It’s quite a fall from grace for Garoppolo, who started in the Super Bowl LIV for the 49ers only four years ago. He and San Francisco lost that game 31-20. Since that game, the quarterback hasn’t seemed to play with the same consistency that nearly made him a world champion.

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.