The Las Vegas Raiders are making changes, as team owner Mark Davis relieved head coach Josh McDaniels, general manager Dave Ziegler and offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi of their duties this week. Antonio Pierce was tabbed as the interim head coach, and with a new lead man comes other changes.
Interim head coach Antonio Pierce announced that the Raiders will start rookie Aidan O'Connell at quarterback over Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 9 vs. the New York Giants, and moving forward. Jimmy G is coming off of an abysmal performance in the 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday night, in which he completed 47.6% of his passes for a season-low 126 passing yards and one interception.
Garoppolo, who signed a three-year deal with the Raiders this offseason, is 3-3 as the starter this year. He's averaging career-lows in yards per attempt (7.2), passer rating (78.1) and TD-INT ratio (0.78), and leads the league in interceptions with nine despite playing in just six games. Per CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones, the Raiders are on the hook for $11.25M in base salary for Garoppolo next year no matter what.
The Raiders are on the hook for $11.25M in base salary for Jimmy Garoppolo in 2024 no matter what. But another $11.25M guarantees in mid-March, or if he can't pass a physical then.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) November 1, 2023
That could factor into any decision on his playing time moving forward this year.
The Raiders selected O'Connell in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Purdue, and the young quarterback was one of the most impressive players of the preseason. He made his first career start in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, and completed 24 of 39 passes for 238 yards and one interception with a rushing touchdown in the 24-17 loss. O'Connell also stepped in for Brian Hoyer during the Week 7 loss to the Chicago Bears, and completed 10 of 13 passes for 75 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Just eight weeks into the regular season, Vegas is ready to move on from its Derek Carr replacement.
