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Paul Gutiérrez, ESPN writer
Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell was carted off the field late in the third quarter of Las Vegas’ 28-13 loss at Tampa Bay on Sunday with a knee injury.
O’Connell was placed in a cast on his left leg after falling awkwardly following an apparently late hit behind Buccaneers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey.
“It doesn’t look good,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said when asked for an update on O’Connell.
Pierce said Kancey’s push from behind came up late, after watching the replay, and he asked the referees for clarification in real time, to no avail.
“We asked, as always,” Pierce said. “We’ll do a report and see what comes out on Monday or Tuesday.”
Desmond Ridder, who was released from the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad on October 22, replaced O’Connell. He finished the game going 12 of 18 for 101 yards.
The only other quarterback under contract with the Raiders is undrafted rookie Carter Bradley, who is on the practice squad.
O’Connell completed 11 of 19 passes for 104 yards with one interception against the Buccaneers.
The lone bright spot for the Raiders on Sunday was Brock Bowers, who set a single-season record for most receptions by a rookie tight end. Bowers’ reception with 27 seconds left was his 87th reception of the season, surpassing the 86 receptions Sam LaPorta had for the Detroit Lions in 2023.
“He’s having a great individual year,” Pierce said. “I wish it could lead us to more success with our team.”
The Raiders fell to 2-11 with their ninth straight loss, marking their longest losing streak since opening the 2014 season 0-10. Las Vegas will next host the Atlanta Falcons (6-7) on “Monday Night Football” on December 16.
Ridder said he was “excited” about the potential to start next week against the Falcons, who drafted him in the third round in 2022 but released him last August.
“Obviously the team and the game we’re going to play next week are going to be big, and obviously it’s a huge stage, but this team is excited,” Ridder said. “This team is ready to just get a win, ready to put together four quarters, 60 minutes together, to be able to go out and, at the end of the day, put up more points than the other team. How do we do it? We’ve got to figure it out.”
According to ESPN Analytics, the Raiders have a 16% chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the third-highest in the league.
