Henderson, Nev. (AP) — Aidan O’Connell will start at quarterback when the Las Vegas Raiders visit their AFC West rival and two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Friday.
Raiders coach Antonio Pierce announced Wednesday that O’Connell has recovered from a broken right thumb suffered on Oct. 20 in a 20-15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
“He’s obviously dialed in the time he’s been on (injured reserve),” Pierce said. “He’s been in all the meetings. He’s been very encouraging on the sidelines. He’s got that laser-eye focus right now. Great opportunity for him.”
Gardner Minshew broke his left collarbone in Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos and is out for the season.
The Raiders could go with Desmond Ryder to replace Minshew. Las Vegas signed Ryder off Arizona’s practice squad on Oct. 21. He started 13 games last season for Atlanta, passing for 2,836 yards and 12 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.
Pierce chose O’Connell, who became the starter midway through last season, and went 5-4 the rest of the way.
Minshew beat him out for the job in the preseason but then struggled through five games.
Pierce then placed O’Connell in the starting lineup on October 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. O’Connell completed 27 of 40 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown with an interception in a 32-13 loss.
Then O’Connell was injured early the following week in Los Angeles and was placed on IR, sidelining him for at least four weeks.
The Raiders designated him to return to practice on Monday, opening a three-week window in which O’Connell could be activated. That came this week.
“He carried himself like a starter, even when he was on IR, he was a backup. He just did a great job of being engaged with the players, on the sidelines, in the meeting room,” Pierce said. He’s the one talking, you can just look at his eyes.
“He wasn’t a guy like: ‘OK, I’m out for the season. I’m not going to play. No, I’ll be back. I’m ready to come back.’ And he worked his tail off to come back.”
O’Connell has a short week to prepare, made more complicated because the Raiders haven’t had a full practice.
He was the last opposing quarterback to win at Arrowhead Stadium. Although he did not complete a pass after the first quarter, the Raiders walked away 20-14 winners in that Christmas Day game.
Las Vegas may play just a little bit of a spoiler this week. At 2-9, the Raiders have lost seven straight games, and the Chiefs are looking to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
“Let’s call a spade a spade,” Pierce said. “The best team in football against the worst team in football. Let’s change the narrative, shall we? Let’s go out there and make it a dogfight. Let’s make it ugly. It’s Black Friday. Let’s create a little chaos. Let’s go back to Raider football and some Have fun and release some personality.”
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