Amazing News: Raiders to Cut $72 Million Star Deal

With Aidan O’Connell scoring four touchdowns against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15, Jimmy Garoppolo is unlikely to play quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders again this season, barring an injury. The organization signed him to a three-year, $72.75 million contract in the offseason, which appears to be one of the worst decisions of the year.

Despite the fact that Garoppolo faces a $28.3 million dead cap penalty if released in 2024, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell believes the Raiders will release him this offseason.

“O’Connell will be in the second year of his rookie deal,” Barnwell wrote in a December 21 column. “Unless something extraordinary happens, the Raiders will release Garoppolo, who will earn just over $35 million for six starts in a Raiders uniform.” And $11.3 million of that total is a guaranteed bonus due next season. For Garoppolo, Vegas will have approximately $29 million in dead money distributed over the next two years on its cap.

Hoyer is under contract for next season, and his $2.2 million salary is completely guaranteed, a nice parting gift from McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. The Raiders may simply cut Hoyer and eat the money, though the 38-year-old might act as a player-coach as a backup.”

The Raiders would have to eat that dead cap, but Garoppolo didn’t appear like a capable NFL quarterback this season.

Will Aidan O’Connell Compete for Starting Job Next Season?

It’s been an up-and-down season for Aidan O’Connell. Prior to the Chargers game, he had four touchdowns to seven interceptions this season. The four touchdown passes against Los Angeles helped his stats but that performance needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

The Chargers have a bottom-five defense in points and yards allowed this season. The team also fired head coach Brandon Staley after the game. The Raiders play an elite Kansas City Chiefs defense in Week 16 so that will be a much stiffer test for O’Connell.

He’s shown good flashes at times this season but he’s also a couple of weeks removed from leading a scoreless effort against the Minnesota Vikings. O’Connell hasn’t shown enough yet that the Raiders should commit to him as the starting quarterback next season.

Antonio Pierce Talks Kansas City Chiefs Trick Plays

Upsetting the Chiefs in Week 16 would certainly help Aidan O’Connell’s chances of being the starting quarterback next season. It would also be a big help in Antonio Pierce’s case to get the full-time head coaching job.

One way to stop the Chiefs is by limiting the effectiveness of their trick plays. Pierce spoke about how the Raiders can stop them.

“These guys have a million of them,” Pierce said of the Chiefs’ trick plays during his December 20 media availability. “Every time you think you’ve seen one, you’ve seen it all, and here comes another one. They’re creative, they have fun doing it. … We saw the ‘Ring Around the Rosie’ deal they did last year. All fun and games, that’s cool.

“But at some point, the best way to stop a trick play is to do what? Hit ’em in the mouth.”