Raiders leaning toward starting Aidan O’Connell over Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 9 vs. Giants, per report

The Las Vegas Raiders are making some changes, as team owner Mark Davis relieved both head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler of their duties Wednesday morning, and tabbed Antonio Pierce as the interim head coach. With a new lead man comes other changes, and the Raiders may be set to make a move under center. 

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Raiders are leaning toward starting rookie Aidan O’Connell at quarterback over Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 9 vs. the New York Giants. Jimmy G is coming off of an abysmal performance in the 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday night, in which he completed 47.6% of his passes for a season-low 126 passing yards and one interception.

Garoppolo, who signed a three-year deal with the Raiders this offseason, is 3-3 as the starter this year. He’s averaging career-lows in yards per attempt (7.2), passer rating (78.1) and TD-INT ratio (0.78), and leads the league in interceptions with nine despite playing in just six games. Per CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones, the Raiders are on the hook for $11.25M in base salary for Garoppolo next year no matter what.

The Raiders selected O’Connell in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Purdue, and the young quarterback was one of the most impressive players of the preseason. He made his first career start in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, and completed 24 of 39 passes for 238 yards and one interception with a rushing touchdown in the 24-17 loss. O’Connell also stepped in for Brian Hoyer during the Week 7 loss to the Chicago Bears, and completed 10 of 13 passes for 75 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Just eight weeks into the regular season, it’s possible Vegas is ready to move on from its Derek Carr replacement.