Ex-teammate Brian Hoyer lauds Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell for 'tremendous' rookie year: 'Guys really gravitated to' him

The training camp in Las Vegas will witness one of the most fiercely competitive quarterback battles this year.

It would seem, based off experience and the free-agent contract he signed, that Gardner Minshew is the favorite, but a former Raiders quarterback believes Aidan O'Connell shouldn’t be sold short, especially considering the marvelous rookie campaign he had.

“At the beginning of the year, he was third on the depth chart and then he ended up finishing the entire year,” O’Connell’s former Raiders teammate Brian Hoyer said on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Amber Theoharis. “I thought, to see his growth and what he was able to do as a fourth-round pick, was tremendous.”

When the 2023 Raiders season was all said and done, Las Vegas had started three quarterbacks — Jimmy Garoppolo, Hoyer and O’Connell — and had had two head coaches on the sideline in Josh McDaniels and his interim replacement Antonio Pierce.

Pierce has now taken over as the full-time head coach, with either Minshew or O’Connell slated to be the starting player for Week 1.

Before the onset of the previous season, Garoppolo had become the Raiders’ new QB1, potentially serving as an interim solution until Las Vegas could secure a younger replacement for the future. Even with the seasoned experience of Garoppolo and Hoyer, O’Connell, a fourth-round selection from the 2023 NFL Draft from Purdue, proved to be the Raiders’ best shot at success according to Pierce. As a result, the rookie quarterback led the team from Week 9 through 18 for the rest of the season.

At the end of the season, O’Connell had started in half of the games with a record of 5-5, completing 62.1% of his passes. He threw for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions over the course of 11 games. While his performance wasn’t spectacular, he had his highlights, demonstrating resilience and fortitude throughout the ups and downs of the season.

Hoyer recalled, “I had the privilege of witnessing Aidan’s growth up close. I remember him expressing surprise at the year’s end, saying, ‘I never envisioned the year unfolding this way.'” He continued, “Clearly, Jimmy Garoppolo started the year, but by its end, it was Aidan who was playing.”

Minshew, meanwhile, was keeping the Indianapolis Colts’ playoff hopes alive until the final week of the season. Like O’Connell, he wasn’t the starter in Week 1, but he took over for an injured Anthony Richardson and went ahead and earned a Pro Bowl spot, going 7-6 as a starter with 3,305 passing yards, 15 TDs and nine INTs.

When the Raiders were unable to get one of the top six quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft after a record-setting QB run, they went with tight end Brock Bowers and will now go with Minshew or O’Connell.

Despite having seniority on the team, O’Connell faces a challenging battle as an underdog. Bo Hardegree, who took over as interim offensive coordinator following McDaniels’ dismissal, was his offensive coordinator for all but one of his starts. However, Hardegree is now with the Tennessee Titans, and Luke Getsy has stepped in as the new offensive coordinator for Las Vegas. This means O’Connell and Minshew are essentially starting from the beginning in terms of learning and leading the offense.

Hoyer expressed his surprise that Bo Hardegree wasn’t considered for retention. He noted that while it took a while for things to improve after Hardegree became the offensive coordinator in the middle of the year, progress was eventually made. “Undeniably, we had a significant game against the Chargers and ended the year on a positive note,” Hoyer added.

Despite the 63-point game against the Chargers, Hardegree has moved on, likely due to the consistent struggles of Las Vegas’ offense, regardless of who was directing the plays.

Regardless, what O’Connell was able to do in 2023 has gone a long way with Pierce, who has been adamant that the 25-year-old will get a fair shot at a starting spot. It’s also obviously gone a long way with Hoyer, who is admittedly biased but is of the mind that O’Connell has shown the potential and intangibles necessary to lead the Silver and Black.

“Hoyer acknowledged, “Perhaps I’m biased, but I truly believe Aidan’s performance last year was commendable. I realize that he hasn’t displayed it as consistently as Gardner Minshew throughout his career. However, I’ve observed how his teammates really appreciated Aidan’s leadership, especially given his youth.”

It will be decided later this summer whether Pierce and Co. will lean towards making O’Connell the starter, as he competes with Minshew.