The Las Vegas Raiders are making major changes from top to bottom in the wake of their Monday loss to the Detroit Lions.
On Tuesday night, the Raiders announced that they had fired both head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they are also benching starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 9 and beyond. Rookie Aidan O’Connell will get the start on Sunday against the New York Giants.
One Raiders source told Rapoport that the team simply feels O’Connell is “our best QB.”
Asked a #Raiders source why. Answer:
“He’s our best QB.” https://t.co/JsqS7MpqV5
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 1, 2023
Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal first reported on Wednesday that the Raiders were strongly leaning toward benching Garoppolo in favor of O’Connell.
O’Connell, a fourth-round pick out of Purdue, has appeared in two games this season. He has completed 65% of his passes and has 313 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
Garoppolo was just 10/21 for 126 yards and an interception in Monday night’s 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions. The Raiders would have had a much better chance to win had it not been for Garoppolo somehow missing a wide-open Davante Adams for what should have been a touchdown (video here). Adams slammed his helmet on the sideline and had some telling comments to the media after the game.
The Raiders signed Garoppolo to a 3-year, $67.5 million contract last offseason. Benching the veteran could be the first step toward moving on from him.
McDaniels likely had heavy influence over the decision to sign Garoppolo, as he and Garoppolo have a history together. Garoppolo played for the Patriots from 2014-2017, which was right in the middle of McDaniels’ second stint as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in New England.
