It’s a hell of a week to have uncertainty at the quarterback position for the Raiders. They will have four days to prepare to face the rival Chiefs at Arrowhead and as of now have their starting QB out for the season and their next best option uncertain if he’ll be healthy enough to go.
“We’ll see if Aidan [O’Connell] is good to go,” head coach Antonio Pierce said Monday. “He’s been ramping up.”
O’Connell has been on injured reserve the past four weeks rehabbing a broken thumb. He will return to practice, opening the window for his return to the active roster, but a lot remains to be seen if he will be ready.
“We’ll just have to see and I’ll have to rely on our doctors and medical staff,” Pierce said. But it’s more than that. Even if he’s cleared medically, he has to pass the eye test
“I know Aidan. I think we all know what it looks like when he’s feeling right and that hand is correct and able for him to perform at a level and help us win a game,” Pierce added.
“So, just seeing him able to grip the ball, comfortable, hopefully no pain there. And just being able to be efficient. Putting a player out there that’s hurting or injured still, that’s not in the benefit of the player or our team.”
Should Pierce or the other coaches feel like O’Connell is not ready, they would turn to Desmond Ridder, who Pierce admitted after the game Sunday night that he hasn’t seen nearly enough from to be confident that he can handle starting duties after just a month with the team.
It’s going to be a late day today for the Raiders as they have to try get a read on O’Connell’s level of readiness and make some kind of decision on who will be starting at quarterback when they head to Kansas City.
