The Raiders will start either Brian Hoyer or Aidan O’Connell in Sunday’s game against the Bears.
But Josh McDaniels isn’t saying who will be behind center for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo.
“Both guys are having a good week practicing. We’ll see how today goes and then we’re just going to make the right decision,” McDaniels said in his Friday press conference. “I think at the end of the day, both of them are going to be ready to go. I have confidence in both of them.
“The good thing, as we’ve talked about, is both of them have played already. So, that’s a unique situation, I’d say — so far in six games, we’ve had three quarterbacks out there that have all competed in close games. So, I’m confident in both of them.”
While McDaniels said publicly that he’ll make a QB decision after practice, there’s a decent chance that choice has been made and he’s just not telling.
O’Connell started the Week 4 loss to the Chargers and showed some solid traits, completing 24-of-39 passes for 238 yards with an interception. Hoyer, 38, has been in for two games so far this year, completing 6-of-10 passes for 102 yards. Hoyer has not won a start since 2016, when he was playing for the Bears.
A few weeks back, word emerged early Sunday morning that O’Connell would be QB1 against the Chargers. We’ll see if we get word sooner or later than that in Week 7.