By Tashan Reed, Vic Tafur, Jeff Howe and Jelani Scott
The Las Vegas Raiders are placing Aidan O’Connell on injured reserve and the quarterback is expected to miss four to six weeks with a fractured thumb, a league source confirmed Monday.
O’Connell exited Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams and did not return after it was believed the QB suffered the broken thumb on his right hand, according to a team source and O’Connell’s agent.
The second-year quarterback sustained the injury late in the first quarter when he hit his hand on the helmet of Rams safety Kam Curl on an incompletion that resulted in an intentional grounding penalty. Prior to exiting, O’Connell, who was injured on the Raiders’ second drive, was 6-of-10 passing for 52 yards.
Raiders coach Antonio Pierce announced after the game O’Connell, spotted post-game with his thumb heavily taped, would need to undergo more tests to determine the severity of his injury. When asked for a prognosis, the signal-caller told reporters, “It hurts,” before relaying that he’s hoping for good news following the team’s return to Las Vegas.
After serving as the backup behind Gardner Minshew for the first five games of the season, O’Connell took over as the starter last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He struggled in the Raiders’ loss as he completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 227 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but the team was comfortable with him acting as the starter moving forward.
With O’Connell sidelined, it’s worth noting just how dire Las Vegas’ situation is at the position after an already tumultuous first half of the season.
The Raiders did not designate a third quarterback for Week 7, as rookie Carter Bradley is on the practice squad. Emergency quarterback Jakobi Meyers was inactive on Sunday with an ankle injury, so it’s unknown what the Raiders would do if Minshew was injured going forward.
(Photo: Chris Unger / Getty Images)
