Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell on Being Doubted

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell understands people will doubt him, but he is determined to prove them wrong.

Jan 7, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell (4) throws against the Denver Broncos during the second quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell did not get to the NFL without hardships and having to work through them. O’Connell was a walk-on at Purdue and was buried on the depth chart before finally earning a starting job and breaking records for the Boilermakers. 

The Raiders took O’Connell in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He became the starter midway through the season when Antonio Pierce took over as the interim coach, and he performed admirably. 

The Raiders’ quarterback situation was recently ranked worst in the league. O'Connell is not new to being doubted. 

He joined defensive end Maxx Crosby – who knows a thing or two about overcoming odds – on the latest episode of his podcast, "The Rush with Maxx Crosby," where he discussed being doubted and how he has overcome it. 

“When God wants me to be on the field, I’m going to be, and when he doesn’t, I’m definitely not going to be,” O'Connell said. “There’s been times where I so badly want to be on the field and think I deserve to be on the field and want to be, and I wasn’t, and then there was times where I’m like, ‘I don’t think I’m ready to be on the field. I don’t think I’m there yet.’ Those experiences were really hard at the time, but I think, in anything, and I think it’s not just unique to me, but anything you can look back and appreciate those and take what you can from them, and take the good and the bad, I think also, as time goes on, you remember the good parts. And so, as hard as the times were, I normally just remember the good parts and the things that used to maybe make me cry, make me laugh.”

O’Connell is in the middle of a quarterback competition with Gardner Minshew, and some people may doubt his chances of winning against a veteran with more years of experience. 

But O’Connell has the mindset to power through doubt, as he has done most of his career. 

It is a pivotal year for O’Connell, and he can prove he deserves to be the starting quarterback for the Silver and Black. 

Click here to watch the full episode with O’Connell on Crosby’s podcast.

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