Aidan James O'Connell (born September 1, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

and was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

Early life

O'Connell was born on September 1, 1998 and grew up in

Long Grove, Illinois Long Grove is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States, approximately away from and a northwest suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,366. The village has strict building ordinances to preserve its "country atm ...

. O'Connell is the middle child of five brothers: Sean, Patrick, Liam, and Seamus. He also has one sister, Grace. O'Connell played high school football and basketball for Stevenson High School in

Lincolnshire, Illinois Lincolnshire is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is a northern suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,940. Named after Lincolnshire, England, the village was incorporated on August 5, 1957, from the u ...

. He was not a highly recruited Illinois high school athlete, as his only scholarship offer came from

Davenport University Davenport University is a private university with campuses throughout Michigan and online. It was founded in 1866 by Conrad Swensburg and currently offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees; diplomas; and post-grad certification prog ...

, a Division II school. In 2016, his only season as a starter, he threw for a school record 2,741 yards and 26

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

College career

On February 3, 2017, O'Connell committed to play

for Wheaton College, but less than a month later, he accepted a preferred walk-on spot with

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

. After not playing in 2017 and 2018, he played in six games in 2019 and started three. He made his first career start against Northwestern, completing 34 of 50 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Overall that season, he completed 103 of 164 passes for 1,101 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. O'Connell entered 2020 as the starter before suffering a season-ending injury after three games. He completed 88 of 136 passes for 916 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. O'Connell entered 2021 as the backup to Jack Plummer, but eventually took over as the starter and completed 315 of 440 passes for 3,712 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He decided to enter the

after the 2022 season. In the 2022 season, he passed for 3,490 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions to go with a rushing touchdown.

College statistics

Professional career

2023 season

O'Connell was drafted by the

in the fourth round with the 135th pick of the

. On October 1, 2023, O'Connell made his first career NFL start, filling in for an injured

Jimmy Garoppolo James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed "Jimmy G", is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Panther ...

. Playing against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, he went 24-of-39 for 238 yards and had his first career rushing touchdown on a goal-line sneak. The Raiders lost 24–17 in his debut. On November 1, 2023, O'Connell was named the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. In Week 15, O'Connell threw four touchdown passes in a dominant 63–21 victory over the

. During the Week 16

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

game against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, where despite his team winning 20–14, O'Connell went 9 of 21 in pass attempts for 62 yards, never completing a pass after the first quarter. O'Connell went 5–5 as a starter. He finished with 2,218 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns and 7 interceptions to go with a rushing touchdown.

2024 season

Following a preseason quarterback competition with new free agent signing

Gardner Minshew Gardner Flint Minshew II (born May 16, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He began his college football career with the Northwest Mississipp ...

, O'Connell was named a backup to begin the season. After the Raiders began the season with a 2–3 record, O'Connell was named the starter on October 9. In his first start of the season, O'Connell passed for 227 yards, one touchdown, and one interception as the Raiders lost to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

32–13. Against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

on October 20, O'Connell suffered a fractured thumb and was later placed on injured reserve. After missing four games, the Raiders activated O'Connell to the 53-man roster on November 28, ahead of the team's Week 13 matchup against the Chiefs. In his return from injury, O'Connell produced the first 300-yard performance of his career, finishing with 340 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions, but miscommunication in the final minute resulted in a lost fumble as the Raiders lost 19–17. He sustained another injury in the team's Week 14 matchup against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

as he suffered a bone bruise to his knee, before returning in Week 16 to end off the season with a record of 2–5.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

O'Connell is married to Jael O'Connell (née Johnson), who played volleyball at Purdue.

References

External links

Las Vegas Raiders bioPurdue Boilermakers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnell, Aidan 1998 births Living people People from Long Grove, Illinois American football quarterbacks Purdue Boilermakers football players Players of American football from Lake County, Illinois Las Vegas Raiders players