The Las Vegas Raiders have decided on a starting quarterback for the Black Friday matchup against the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs.
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According to head coach Antonio Pierce, Aidan O'Connell will get the nod as he returns from Injured Reserve. He will take over for Gardner Minshew, who broke his collarbone during a loss to the Broncos.
Minshew appeared in 10 games this season while starting nine. He led the Raiders to their two wins, but he also threw 10 interceptions.
"He'll throw the ball a little bit today during practice," Pierce said about O'Connell during Wednesday's media session. "He's done good over the last two days in walkthroughs — obviously indoors — but we'll see how he looks today.
"We feel good about Aidan. He's been dialed in, obviously, throughout this time that he's been on IR. He's been very encouraging on the sideline. I mean, he's got that laser-eye focus right now."
O'Connell took the starting quarterback job from Minshew after an 18-34 loss to the Broncos. The second-year quarterback led the offense during a loss to the Steelers, throwing for 227 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
O'Connell was the starter once again as the Raiders faced off with the Rams the following week. He threw for 52 yards before leaving the game with a fractured thumb. The Raiders placed him on Injured Reserve the following week.
The Raiders have seen what O'Connell can do with extended time as the starting quarterback. He was the starter for 10 games last season as a rookie after replacing Jimmy Garoppolo. He went 5-5 while throwing for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
One of these wins was a Dec. 25 game against the Chiefs. O'Connell only had to throw for 62 yards as the Raiders scored on a fumble return and an interception return. Kicker Daniel Carlson added two field goals to clinch the upset.
Now at 2-9, the Raiders have another opportunity to upset the 10-1 Chiefs.
"Let's call a spade a spade, the best team in football against the worst team in football," Pierce added. "Let's change the narrative. Let's go out there and make it a dogfight, let's make it ugly, let's make it scrappy.
"It's Black Friday, let's create a little chaos, let's get back to Raider football and have some fun and some personality. Let it loose."
The Raiders and Chiefs face off on Friday, Nov. 29. The AFC West matchup will take place at 3 p.m. ET. Amazon's Prime Video will provide exclusive coverage of the game.
