Writers around the league are focusing on the offseason in Las Vegas during the final month and a half of the campaign
We’ve got six games left for the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2024 season and it feels like the team has more questions now than when the campaign started. To no surprise, the 2-9 club ranks toward the bottom of every NFL power ranking heading into Week 13 as the focus is on the quarterback situation and thus, the NFL Draft.
Bleacher Report
30. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 27
Gardner Minshew will miss the remainder of the season with a broken collarbone, so the Raiders must turn to Desmond Ridder or Aidan O’Connell for the remainder of the season.
The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed believe O’Connell will reclaim the starting position after returning from injured reserve. In Week 7, O’Connell fractured his thumb, but he likely would’ve been starting at this point of the campaign if not for his injury. Before Minshew broke his collarbone, the Raiders benched him three times. Yet regardless of who starts under center for the Raiders, they’re headed toward a four-win season at best. — Moe Moton
Tafur noted that O’Connell is expected to start on Tuesday morning. So, similar to last year, he’ll likely get the next six weeks to prove himself as the team’s starting quarterback moving forward. Those odds are slim but if O’Connell can play well enough to win a few more games, he could take the Raiders out of range for drafting one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft class…like last year…
The Athletic
30. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 29
Best-case scenario: The No. 1 draft pick
If the season ended today, Las Vegas would pick No. 3, but the Raiders are closing in on the top spot fast. Las Vegas lost its seventh straight Sunday and lost starting quarterback Gardner Minshew for the season. This isn’t the draft to be in the quarterback market, according to most experts, but having the first shot to draft one still is the best option for the Raiders. — Josh Kendall
While the coaching staff, locker room and some fans may hate the idea of tanking, it’s probably what’s best for the Silver and Black moving forward. Winning meaningless games would just make finding a new QB more difficult and Las Vegas has a chance to win the No. 1 overall pick by losing to Jacksonville in Week 16. Albeit, the New York Giants factor into the equation as well.
Sports Illustrated
32. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 31
I think it’s about time Mark Davis comes out and starts to discuss the offseason plan here. What is Tom Brady’s level of involvement? (I have heard one thing and have read reports to the contrary). Is the plan to bring back Antonio Pierce? Asserting that there are hands on the steering wheel might be a prudent business move at this point. — Conor Orr
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
While I doubt that Davis will give answers before the season is over, Orr is echoing what many fans are asking for. The season is essentially over so everyone wants to know what the plan is to improve the team moving forward, starting with the head coach. It would be kind of ironic if Pierce, who got the job for his work as the interim head coach, got fired before finishing the campaign and thus another interim would be named.
NFL.com
31. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 31
The season-ending injury to Gardner Minshew is just the latest sour note in an increasingly tough campaign, especially at quarterback. Yes, Aidan O’Connell will be eligible to return from injured reserve, but it seems likely to me that Desmond Ridder will be the Raiders’ third starting QB this season. Hey, at this point, they might as well see what he can do. Expectations must be tempered, as with many things Raiders-related. Ridder replaced Minshew late Sunday and promptly was strip-sacked; it was the sixth sack he’s taken in 34 dropbacks for the Raiders this season. Up next: the Chiefs at Arrowhead on Black Friday. Woo! The Chiefs won a close one in the first meeting, and, hey, a Raiders team that was struggling as much as this year’s squad went in there and shocked them on Christmas last year, so anything is theoretically possible. — Eric Edholm
As mentioned above, O’Connell is expected to be the starter instead of Ridder but that could be temporary. If the second-year pro struggles, why not give Ridder a shot to see what he can bring to the table? At this point, he can’t do much worse.
ESPN
31. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 32
Offense ranking: 29
Defense ranking: 23
Special teams ranking: 3
When it comes to the Raiders and another lost season — their seven-game losing streak is their longest in-season skid since opening the 2014 campaign 0-10 — they have yet to establish an identity on offense. Having the worst running attack in the NFL (74.6 yards per game) hurts, while injuries and ineffectiveness at quarterback have doomed Las Vegas. Its defense bends until it breaks from the strain and is anything but opportunistic with a league-low five takeaways and a minus-17 turnover differential. At least the Raiders have All-Pros at punter and kicker in AJ Cole and Daniel Carlson, right? — Paul Gutierrez
I’ve been saying that this year’s team feels a lot like the late 2000s to early 2010s squads and the fact two of the team’s most notable players this year are the kicker and punter kind of confirms that. So, should we spark debates about which duo was better, Shane Lechler and Sebastian Janikowski or Cole and Carlson?