A new era in Sin City is underway as the Las Vegas Raiders recently removed the interim tag from Antonio Pierce and made him the full-time head coach. One of the biggest roster questions to be answered this offseason is at quarterback, as the team is expected to release veteran Jimmy Garoppolo.
Flushed with cap space and good draft capital, the Raiders have some options of where they can turn to for their starting quarterback in 2024. We’ll go over some of them below.
Current Raiders QBs
With Jimmy G on his way out the door, the two remaining quarterbacks on the roster are Aidan O’Connell and Brian Hoyer. As a rookie in 2023, O’Connell was named the starter midway through the year following the firing of head coach Josh McDaniels and the subsequent benching of Garoppolo. Through 11 games, AOC put up modest numbers by completing 62.1% of his passes for 2,218 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The Raiders could kick the tires again on O’Connell again as the starter to see if he can make a jump from year one to year two. If they do decide to look elsewhere for an upgrade, he’s not a bad option to have as a backup just in case.
Free agent QBs
Las Vegas could look to the free agent market to find its next QB and with roughly $42 million in cap space to play with, it could make a few moves happen.
Russell Wilson, who is set to be released by the Denver Broncos, is a top candidate to sign with Las Vegas. The Broncos will still owe Wilson $39 million minus the salary he’ll make with his new team in 2024, so Wilson could simply sign a veteran minimum of $1.21 million. In this scenario, the Raiders would get a still productive veteran for cheap and Wilson would get to stick it to his former team by forcing them to pay out most of the money they owe.
The Raiders could also pursue either Kirk Cousins or Baker Mayfield for lucrative, multi-year deals. However, early signs are pointing toward Cousins landing with the Atlanta Falcons while Mayfield will most likely re-sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Other cheaper options include the likes of Ryan Tannehill, Jacoby Brissett, and Tyrod Taylor, but Pierce has indicated that he doesn’t want to put a band-aid on the QB situation.
Trading for a QB
Vegas is one of the teams that has been cited as a possible landing spot for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields, who could possibly be moved out if the Bears decide to use the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on USC QB Caleb Williams.
Fields will be entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2024, and that makes it a risky proposition for a team to trade for a still unproven commodity knowing that they’ll immediately have to pay him in 2025. However, Pierce and Co. could see the potential of what the young QB could become if put into the right situation.
2024 NFL Draft
The Raiders own the No. 13 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and could decide to use it to nab its franchise QB. However, it’s in an awkward spot.
By the time the Raiders make their pick, top prospects Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels will be well off the board. It’s been rumored that the team is looking to trade up into the 5-7 range, but all three QBs could still be gone by that point. Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy has recently been receiving considerable hype as a potential first-round pick. Them trading up for him would be a measure to beat out other QB-needy teams like the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos, who sit ahead of them on the draft board.
Other options include Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., both of whom could be second-round selections. Vegas will pick in the middle of the second round at No. 44 and they could use other picks to move up in the second to secure either of those prospects.