Aidan O’Connell’s future with the Las Vegas Raiders is looking murky. The 26-year-old showed some promise during his rookie campaign in 2023 and also led the Raiders to a few wins last year. However, with the addition of Geno Smith, O’Connell is firmly the No.2 quarterback and won’t receive the chance to play meaningful snaps moving forward unless of an injury to Smith.
Additionally, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reported on Thursday that the Raiders’ new regime, headed by general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll, isn’t very impressed with O’Connell, and many expect them to try to trade the third-year quarterback for a Day 3 selection in the draft.
Tafur also added that Las Vegas was interested in Joe Milton before the New England Patriots traded him to the Dallas Cowboys.
“The Raiders’ new brass doesn’t seem that high on incumbent Aidan O’Connell and many expect them to try and trade him for a pick on Day 3 of the draft,” Tafur wrote. “(The Raiders were in on trade talks for New England Patriots backup Joe Milton, according to league sources, but the Dallas Cowboys got him for a fifth-round pick.)”
If Las Vegas ends up moving O’Connell, Last Word on Sports’ Anthony Palacios believes the Baltimore Ravens should trade for the pocket passer.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens finally got a dependable backup option in former Dallas Cowboy Cooper Rush. This doesn’t mean he will take back-to-back MVP Lamar Jackson’s job, but it’s better for the Ravens to have several quarterbacks in case Jackson goes down. Rush is capable of holding it down, but doesn’t seem like the type to win games in the postseason. This isn’t to say Jackson will suffer an injury this upcoming season, but O’Connell might be able to take over as the backup one day. O’Connell will never start for the Ravens, but this could be a great opportunity for him to learn from the best of the best in Baltimore.
Trading for O’Connell wouldn’t make much sense for the Ravens, as the team already brought in a solid veteran backup quarterback this offseason in Cooper Rush, who has tons of starting experience and is nice insurance in case Lamar Jackson goes down with an injury.
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O’Connell also shouldn’t want a trade to Baltimore, as the young signal-caller wouldn’t even receive the chance to compete for a backup role and would likely be fighting for a roster spot in training camp.
There are a few teams that could give up draft capital to acquire O’Connell, but the Ravens won’t be one of them.
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