Raiders ‘still evaluating’ QB options after Vikings loss

The Raiders can’t do much to inject life into their morbid offense with a quick turnaround before their next game Thursday against the Chargers.

Making a change at quarterback is one thing they’ll consider, however. Rookie Aidan O’Connell couldn’t lead the team to a single point in Sunday’s embarrassing 3-0 loss to the Vikings.

The Raiders, one day after one of the most listless performances in franchise history, were still thinking about a switch from O’Connell to veteran Jimmy Garoppolo on Monday.

“We’re still evaluating. We’re going through that process now,” Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

The Raiders started fast under Pierce, winning two straight games after coach Josh McDaniels was fired Oct. 31. They’ve since dropped three in a row to fall almost entirely out of the playoff race at 5-8.

The Raiders’ faint postseason hopes hinge on winning their last four games and getting all sorts of help from other teams around the NFL.

Pierce and the team owe it to themselves to push forward as best they can until their chances are gone. That means giving serious consideration to starting Garoppolo, who was benched in favor of O’Connell the week Pierce took over.

Making the move guarantees the Raiders nothing. But with O’Connell playing inconsistent football for three straight games, what do they have to lose?

Pierce didn’t tip his hand one way or the other Monday.

“We’ll just go through the process,” Pierce said. “Not going to rush to make any decision. Not do anything emotional based on what I read, hear or what anybody’s telling me. I’ll go off my gut.”

It’s likely now or never for the Raiders and Garoppolo, who signed a three-year, $72.75 million contract last offseason to replace Derek Carr as the team’s starting quarterback.

The deal’s fine print could ultimately decide whether the team can turn to Garoppolo and for how long.

The Raiders are on the hook for the remainder of Garoppolo’s salary this year and his $11.25 million roster bonus for 2024. Together, those figures represent the fully guaranteed $33.75 million part of his contract. It gets a little tricky after that. Garoppolo’s $11.25 million salary for 2024 isn’t guaranteed until March. That means the Raiders can walk away from Garoppolo and that money by cutting him before then.

There is one snag. Garoppolo’s 2024 salary is guaranteed for injury. That means if he is seriously hurt between now and the end of the season, the Raiders will be on the hook for that $11.25 million whether he’s on the roster or not.

The financial risk of turning things over to Garoppolo could still be worth it. The Raiders have not been eliminated yet. On the other hand, it would be hard for them to justify playing the 32-year-old as soon as they’re out of the playoff mix.

Pierce, for his part, didn’t want to lay all the team’s offensive problems at O’Connell’s feet.

“It’s easy to point the finger at the quarterback, and obviously, we will look at that as we go forward,” Pierce said. “But we knew what we got when we put Aidan at quarterback. It was going to be some ups and downs, and this was not one of our better performances.”

O’Connell, even if he isn’t the main problem, hasn’t been part of the solution, either. The Raiders are 2-4 with him as their starter, including Sunday’s clunker.

“I point to myself. I got to do a better job of executing in the run game, in the pass game, and making sure we have a good play going when I hike the football,” O’Connell said. “You can put it on me. I got to execute better.”

Garoppolo wasn’t much better earlier this season while going 3-3. His benching was more than justified.

But with the Raiders season hanging by a thread, it might be time to give him one last look.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.