Injuries have plagued the Las Vegas Raiders quarterback room for the first 12 weeks of the regular season. Gardner Minshew II injured his left collarbone during the fourth quarter after being sacked by Cody Barton and Jonathon Cooper and landing hard on his left shoulder. Minshew suffered a broken collarbone and will miss the rest of the 2024 season.
The Las Vegas Raiders backup suffered a thumb injury in Week 7
Aidan O’Connell injured his right thumb attempting to throw a deep pass, and Kamren Curl hit his hand on the follow-through in the second drive of their Week 7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. O’Connell played the next snap, which would be his last. Tests determined that he suffered a fractured thumb.
Also Read: Las Vegas Raiders: Quarterback Suffered a Significant Thumb Injury in Week 7
The Raiders placed O’Connell on injured reserve ahead of Week 8. Since then, he’s missed five weeks and four games while recovering from his thumb injury. Since he has missed four games, the minimum number of games a player must stay on injured reserve, he is eligible to return to the active roster.
He is inching closer to a return
According to Tashan Reed of The Athletic, the Las Vegas Raiders will designate Aidan O’Connell for return tomorrow. As Reed points out, O’Connell will participate in Tuesday’s walkthrough and practice during their short week. The Raiders will travel to Missouri to play against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for Black Friday.
Pierce said O’Connell will be designated to return to practice from injured reserve and participate in the #Raiders‘ walkthrough tomorrow. https://t.co/qQnzjcpN80
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) November 25, 2024
Will he play on Black Friday?
Aidan O’Connell’s availability for Black Friday’s game will ultimately come down to how well he grips a football. Head coach Antonio Pierce wants O’Connell to be able to grip the football comfortably for him to play against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Just seeing him being able to grip the ball comfortably — hopefully there’s no pain there — and just being able to be efficient,” Pierce said Monday, via Tashan Reed of The Athletic. “To put a player out there that’s hurting or injured still, that’s not in the benefit of the player or the team.”
Who starts if he can’t play?
Desmond Ridder will take over as the starting quarterback if Aidan O’Connell can’t play. Ridder filled in at quarterback for the rest of their Week 12 loss to the Denver Broncos, completing five out of ten pass attempts for 64 yards. Carter Bradley would serve as the backup in this hypothetical.
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