HENDERSON, Nev. — It’s no secret that the Las Vegas Raiders’ biggest need this offseason will be a quarterback. At 2-10, the Raiders are firmly in the running to land the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, the rest of the AFC West — the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, the Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert and the Denver Broncos and Bo Nix — is in the playoff picture.
Asked last month for the biggest difference between the Raiders and the rest of the AFC West, coach Antonio Pierce said, “Quarterback play, bottom line.”
Since benching longtime starter Derek Carr in 2022, they’ve cycled through six different starting quarterbacks: Jarrett Stidham, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew II.
O’Connell took over as the starter again last week against the Chiefs and went off for a career-high 340 passing yards. He could make a case to be a part of the quarterback competition next year if he plays well over the final five games of the season, but even that won’t stop the Raiders from exploring their options this offseason.
🔴📽️Live: Aidan O’Connell addresses the media from the Intermountain Health Performance Center. https://t.co/IjqXKkw27V
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) December 4, 2024
It looks like the quarterbacks available in free agency will be lackluster — 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers would be the top quarterback on the market if he’s released by the New York Jets — so the Raiders’ clearest path to finding an upgrade runs through the 2025 NFL Draft. In The Athletic draft analyst Dane Brugler’s latest mock draft, the team ended up with the No. 2 pick behind the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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