Undrafted free agent gets a chance to win the third quarterback job on Friday
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce spoke to the media ahead of Wednesday night’s practice and announced that Carter Bradley will start and play in the first half during Friday’s final preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers. Pierce also said that Aidan O’Connell will not play in the matchup.
For the @Raiders https://t.co/ybzrvVKrJt
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) August 22, 2024
HC Antonio Pierce says Aidan O’Connell will not play Friday Night. #Raiders
— Your Boy Q (@YourboyQ254) August 22, 2024
This announcement comes on the heels of O’Connell losing the starting quarterback competition in training camp to Gardner Minshew. The second-year pro had opportunities to prove himself during the Raiders’ first two preseason games while Bradley has only thrown 13 passes so far, all coming last week against the Dallas Cowboys.
The undrafted free agent is also vying for positioning on the depth chart. Las Vegas’ third quarterback spot is up for grabs and Anthony Brown Jr. was let go ahead of last Saturday’s contest. However, the team signed Nathan Peterman—who spent the last two years with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy playing for the Chicago Bears—last week as well.
With Bradley playing in the first half, the assumption is Peterman gets the third and fourth quarters to show what he can bring to the table.
In non-quarterback news, Pierce also said that he’s “hopeful” rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson will play in the season opener for the Raiders, September 8 versus the Los Angeles Chargers, per The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore. Meanwhile, fellow rookies Brock Bowers and Tommy Eichenberg are being held out for precautionary reasons, according to Bonsignore.
Eichenberg’s injury has been a bit of a mystery, but Pierce shined some light on it during his press conference on Sunday. “Tommy’s been dealing with a lower leg injury,” he said, “hopefully we’ll have him back here. He won’t play in the preseason game, but hopefully we’ll have him back by the regular season.”
The Athletic’s Vic Tafur asked about Kolton Miller’s return, as Miller was recently taken off the PUP list, and the head coach smiled and replied, “I felt at ease.”