This was not supposed to happen. The Raiders planned for Aidan O’Connell to be their backup QB this season, but after the 10-20 preseason loss against the Cardinals, the team might be in the market for another QB. O’Connell suffered a fractured right wrist on Saturday and will be sidelined for a while. Here’s what took place.

After the Raiders’ 10-play, 32-yard scoring drive at the start of the second quarter, which culminated in a 52-yard field goal from placekicker Daniel Carlson, trainers checked on O’Connell. From the sidelines, they quickly moved to the locker room. And the QB returned to the sidelines later that quarter with a splint on his right hand. Rookie QB Cam Miller had taken over the duties, but fans wondered what was going on with O’Connell. It wasn’t until the post-game press conference that HC Pete Carroll divulged information about the injury.

“He fractured his wrist. He is hurt, and it’s going to be a while.

“They have to get that fixed. So, that’s a big blow for us,” he said in the press conference. What will the HC do regarding their QB situation now? Answering that, Carroll said, “Well, we got two [QBs] instead of three. It is going to be six to eight weeks, something like that. He is going to be out for a while. So, we just got to see what we can do and keep developing Cam, and fortunately, he got a lot of playing time tonight. And that’ll help him.”

However, when a reporter asked Carroll if Miller was ready for the backup spot for starter Geno Smith, the HC remained non-committal. “We’ll see,” he said. It will be interesting to see how Las Vegas deals with this situation. With the impending roster cuts in the league, the team could explore additional options for its quarterback room. They could explore the trade market or make a waiver-wire claim.

Entering his third NFL season, O’Connell has amassed 3,830 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 20 career games. That includes the 17 games he started. But last season, he missed several weeks because of a broken thumb, and now, his wrist has sidelined him.

The timing couldn’t be worse. He was finally settling into the perfect QB2 spot behind Smith after starting seven games last season and putting up 1,612 yards with eight touchdowns and four picks. He was a steady, reliable producer that coaches love when the number 1 isn’t there. And for the roster, that means the reliable clipboard is suddenly replaced with uncertainty.

Rookie Cam Miller finished the night 12-of-24 for 102 yards. It’s a quick little reminder of just where the QB depth chart sits at the moment. And O’Connell’s availability would have mattered if the Raiders didn’t like what they saw from Geno Smith in the regular season.

The $18.5M Geno Smith “exit strategy”

Geno Smith is the QB1, and for a while, the depth chart looked like it was set in stone. But if the Raiders don’t like what they see, they’ve got a way out. They structured Smith’s contract in such a manner that it is possible for the team to escape after this season with an $18.5 million dead cap hit. That’s not too bad.

Smith’s deal barely ties the Raiders to him past this season. He has got $18.5 million guaranteed for 2026, but since Vegas avoids big signing bonuses on contracts, that’s all the dead money they’d eat if they cut him next year. Keep him through 2026, and he’s looking at $40 million this year and $26.5 million next. After that? Zero guarantees for 2027. So, the Raiders could walk away with no dead money at all.

But so far, the escape hatch isn’t looking likely. Smith showed exactly why the Raiders brought him in, hitting a touchdown on his only drive against Arizona. And that’s the tone you can expect for the rest of the season. If Smith hits the marks he did from 2022 to 2024 and keeps the offense humming in Chip Kelly’s system, that escape hatch becomes optional instead of mandatory.