Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell Appreciates C Andre James

The Las Vegas Raiders will have many new aspects to their offense this season. However, the center position won't be one of them after they brought back veteran offensive lineman Andre James.

The Las Vegas Raiders have had a lot of change on the offensive side of the ball over the last two seasons.

Including Bo Hardegree, the Raiders are on their third offensive coordinator in the previous two seasons. They have a new offensive line coach and will add new members to their offensive line over the remainder of the offseason. Las Vegas is already starting to patch their offensive line together. Luckily, they won’t have to find a replacement for arguably the most critical positions on the offensive line.

They’ve had three starting quarterbacks in the last three seasons. One of the few constants on the Raiders’ offense has been center Andre James, who has been with the team for the previous five seasons. Last year may have been James’ finest season, as he was productive while on the field and was a calming presence to Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell after he was unexpectedly thrown into the starting position halfway through his rookie season.

James has been one of the few constants on a Raiders team that has seen many players come and go over the last few seasons. While re-signing James will benefit the entire Raiders team, few players on the team will benefit as much from James staying in Las Vegas than O’Connell.

The second-year quarterback spoke about what the veteran offensive lineman means to him when he addressed the media on Monday.

"Dre [Andre James] is awesome. A super laid-back guy, but when you get on the field, he's super intense and wants to win,” O’Connell said. “He did an awesome job for us last year and obviously was rewarded for what he did, and we're happy he's here. And just a guy, I think if you were to ask the other guys, they'd love to be around.

"Super funny guy, just a fun person to have in the huddle and in the locker room. And then, obviously, our jobs were pretty interconnected last year, handling a lot of protections and in the run game. And so, he helped me out a bunch, took stuff off my plate, and tried to help me as much as he could. I definitely appreciate him." 

The Raiders have made one significant move this offseason by bringing in defensive lineman Christian Wilkins. However, retaining James on a team with so many new facets could be one of the best decisions of Raiders general manager Tom Telesco’s early tenure with the Raiders.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.

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