Host Thinks Raiders’ No. 2 Quarterback Spot is Set

The Raiders got a surprise performance from sixth-round pick Cam Miller in their first preseason game, but according to flagship radio host Q Myers, there’s probably not a “real battle” for the no. 2 spot on the depth chart at quarterback.

“I know a lot of people are talking about it. The QBs, obviously not Geno Smith and Aiden O’Connell, but Aiden O’Connell and Cam Miller. And no, it’s not a real battle as far as I’m concerned. It’s not a Cam Miller is going to overtake Aiden’s spot… It’s not that at all,” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders podcast.

“I think Aiden O’Connell is definitely going to be the backup quarterback for 2025. You just can’t put yourself in that position and open yourself up, right? If something were to happen to Geno Smith and knock on wood that it happens… You can’t all of a sudden just expect a six-round pick out of North Dakota State to come in and be able to hold that spot down and feel comfortable with that.”

Myers acknowledged that O’Connell hasn’t always been consistent in games and at practice, but his veteran presence is something the Raiders need in the quarterback room behind Geno Smith.

“Aiden O’Connell has starting experience. Aiden O’Connell has won games in the league. Has he looked fantastic? No, he didn’t look fantastic on Thursday against Seattle. Didn’t look great on Tuesday [and] some pretty errant passes. But at the end of the day, I think that they have confidence that he can go in and slide in at the back of spot if need be,” Myers continued.

“I absolutely believe that the Raiders are going to have to keep three quarterbacks on the roster unless they just find someone that they have to get on the 53-man roster, and decide that it’s not worth it. They have three quarterbacks, and then they take the chance of putting Cam Miller, you know, waving them and hoping he clears waivers so they can put him on the practice squad. I just think that someone will pick him up.”

There may have been a thought of sneaking Miller onto the practice squad ahead of the regular season, but the popular opinion right now is that it would be too big of a risk to expose him to potentially being picked up by another team.

Too many teams had (and presumably have) their eye on Miller.

“Most guys jumping from FCS at quarterback would get the opportunity to go on a practice squad, but there were so many people that liked him, including Raiders owner Tom Brady, that I think it may be hard if he shines in these preseason games to hide him on the practice squad,” Sports Illustrated insider Carpenter said last week on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast before Miller’s performance against the Seahawks.

According to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, the Raiders were engaged in some level of trade conversations around O’Connell just a few months ago, so if Miller continues to pay well in the preseason, it’s not impossible that those conversations could come around again.

“From what me and Vic [Tafur] have reported on this earlier this year… around the draft they were dangling Aidan, even before Cam Miller got here, they were dangling [Aidan O’Connell] in trade conversations,” Reed said on the Just Win Podcast.

“So they’re definitely not tethered to [O’Connell] or anything of that nature. So yeah, we’ll see. It’s only one preseason game. Nothing to overreact about, but if he keeps stinking it up like he’s been stinking it up, it’s going to become a conversation.”

x: @raidersbeat