With rookie sensation Fernando Mendoza and veteran Kirk Cousins anchoring a revamped depth chart, 1 Las Vegas Raiders QB is a cut candidate.
The Las Vegas Raiders have all sorts of new faces in town after a very forgettable era with Geno Smith as the quarterback, Chip Kelly as the offensive coordinator and Pete Carroll as the head coach.
Klint Kubiak is the new head coach and he is fresh off a Super Bowl victory as OC with the Seattle Seahawks.
And, the Raiders made the obvious choice to select Indiana Hoosiers QB and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall.
The hope is that Mendoza solves their Qb issues in the long haul, and they even signed veteran Kirk Cousins to be the bridge to Mendoza and give the rookie plenty of time to get acclimated to the NFL game before he is thrown into the fire.
The Raiders also helped by adding Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, so they are turning over every stone to try and get back to winning ways after some rough seasons in Sin City.
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report named the best player on each team who could be cut, and for the Raiders, it is quarterback Aidan O'Connell.
The Raiders QB depth chart will be Mendoza and Cousins in some order, and it isn't very likely that they carry three active signal-callers on the roster.
The other QB on the roster is undrafted rookie Jacob Clark, who figures to be a favorite to land on the practice squad, depending on how he performs this summer.
Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson was initially listed with the Raiders, but he wasn't on the team's UDFA list, which raised some questions.
Moton said it's rare to see a third-string QB as the best player on a cut list, but the Raiders bringing in Cousins all but ended that hope of O'Connell having a shot at the backup job.
"O'Connell is clearly the odd man out at quarterback, but he may not have much trade value despite throwing for 3,922 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 21 games, which included 17 starts. O'Connell has athletic limitations at an evolving position and an expiring contract. Teams may wait for 2027 free agency rather than trade for him," Moton wrote.
That is a big issue for O'Connell's immediate future, and the New York Jets acquired Geno Smith for a late-round pick swap with the Raiders, so that might be the only trade value for O'Connell, if that.
The Raiders selected O'Connell in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but with the way things have gone layely in Las Vegas, they might be inclined to part ways with O'Connell and allow him the opportunity to land somewhere else with more hopes of finding playing time or a roster spot.
