After the Raiders signed Kirk Cousins and drafted Fernando Mendoza first overall, the former Purdue standout faces a crowded depth chart that could force a trade or release.
Aidan O'Connell's time with the Las Vegas Raiders could be coming to an end, and that's not entirely his fault.
The Raiders selected the former Purdue Boilermakers star in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, he appeared in 11 games, throwing for 2,218 yards with 12 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
At times, O'Connell showed that he could maybe turn out as the QB1. However, in 2024, the Raiders used all of O'Connell, Gardner Minshew and Desmond Ridder.
O'Connell played in 9 games that season, throwing for 1,612 yards with 8 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
Then, in 2025, the Raiders acquired Geno Smith in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks, although Smith ended up playing worse than anybody expected.
O'Connell then played in just one game, throwing a total of 10 completions. When the Raiders selected Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall in 2026 and signed veteran Kirk Cousins, all signs pointed to him being the odd man out.
With roster decisions coming soon, Kevin Patra of NFL.com listed O'Connell as a cut candidate unless a team tries to trade for the former Purdue QB.
"AOC should be a trade target for a team in need of a backup QB with starting experience. With no direct path to playing time with the additions of veteran Kirk Cousins and No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza, O'Connell's time in Vegas should be coming to a close," Patra wrote.
As Patra said, O'Connell "should" be a target for a trade, but there are other QBs on the market that are also generating trade buzz, as Benjamin Allbright listed some names on Thursday.
Those names include Anthony Richardson and Tua Tagovailoa, although it figures that O'Connell could be had at a much cheaper price.
The only other QB currently on the Raiders roster is Jacob Clark, an undrafted free agent from Missouri State.
He signed a three-year deal in May, and he projects to be a practice squad player if Las Vegas decides to keep him.
O'Connell signed a four-year rookie deal worth just over $4 million when he was drafted, so he is in the final season of that deal, which makes him fairly cheap for another team to acquire as a potential backup.
Teams have a short amount of time to make the final cuts, and it wouldn't be surprising to see O'Connell go elsewhere.
