Aidan O'Connell

Aidan James O'Connell (born September 1, 1998) is an American professional football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Aidan O'Connell

O'Connell with Purdue in 2022
No. 12 – Las Vegas Raiders
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1998-09-01) September 1, 1998 (age 26) Long Grove, Illinois, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:	Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Illinois)
College:	Purdue (2017–2022)
NFL draft:	2023: 4th round, 135th pick
Career history
Las Vegas Raiders (2023–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
2× Second-team All-Big Ten (2021, 2022)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2024
Passing attempts: 586 Passing completions: 367 Completion percentage: 62.6% TD–INT: 20–11 Passing yards: 3,830 Passer rating: 85.1 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

O'Connell was born in Long Grove, Illinois, on September 1, 1998.^[1] 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.^[2] He was not a highly recruited Illinois high school athlete, as his only scholarship offer came from Davenport University, a Division II school.^[3] In 2016, his only season as a starter, he threw for a school record 2,741 yards and 26 touchdowns.^[4][5]

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Aidan O'Connell QB	Lincolnshire, Illinois	Stevenson (IL)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Feb 6, 2016
	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: NR (IL)  ESPN: NR (national), NR (QB, pocket passer), NR (IL)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Purdue Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023. "2017 Purdue Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023.

College career

On February 3, 2017, O'Connell committed to play college football for Wheaton College,^[6] but less than a month later, he accepted a preferred walk-on spot with Purdue.^[6][7]

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.^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10] He decided to enter the 2023 NFL draft after the 2022 season.^[11] In the 2022 season, he passed for 3,490 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions to go with a rushing touchdown.^[12]

College statistics

Season	Games		Passing								Rushing
	GP	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
Purdue Boilermakers
2017	0	—	DNP
2018	0	—
2019	6	1–2	103	164	62.8	1,101	6.7	8	4	130.4	15	-9	-0.6	0
2020	3	2–1	88	136	64.7	916	6.7	7	2	135.3	12	-64	-5.3	0
2021	12	7–3	315	440	71.6	3,712	8.4	28	11	158.5	25	-120	-4.8	1
2022	12	7–5	320	499	64.1	3,490	7.0	22	13	132.2	43	-81	-1.9	1
Career	33	17−11	826	1,239	66.7	9,219	7.4	65	30	141.6	95	-274	-2.9	2

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span
6 ft 3+3⁄8 in (1.91 m)	213 lb (97 kg)	32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m)	9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m)
All values from the NFL Combine[13][14]

2023 season

O'Connell was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth round with the 135th pick of the 2023 NFL draft.^[15]

On October 1, 2023, O'Connell made his first career NFL start, filling in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo. Playing against the Los Angeles Chargers, 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.^[16] On November 1, 2023, O'Connell was named the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.^[17] In Week 15, O'Connell threw four touchdown passes in a dominant 63–21 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.^[18] During the Week 16 Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs, 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.^[19] 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.^[20]

2024 season

Following a preseason quarterback competition with new free agent signing Gardner Minshew, O'Connell was named a backup to begin the season.^[21] After the Raiders began the season with a 2–3 record, O'Connell was named the starter on October 9.^[22] 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 32–13. Against the Los Angeles Rams on October 20, O'Connell suffered a fractured thumb and was later placed on injured reserve.^[23] 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.^[24] 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.^[25] He sustained another injury in the team's Week 14 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as he suffered a bone bruise to his knee,^[26] before returning in Week 16 to end off the season with a record of 2-5.

NFL career statistics

Year	Team	Games			Passing									Rushing					Sacks		Fumbles
		GP	GS	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	Lng	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Sck	SckY	Fum	Lost
2023	LV	11	10	5−5	213	343	62.1	2,218	6.5	50	12	7	83.9	17	11	0.6	3	1	24	173	4	2
2024	LV	9	7	2−5	154	243	63.4	1,612	6.6	58	8	4	86.7	21	30	1.4	13	1	10	82	2	2
Career		20	17	7−10	367	586	62.6	3,830	6.5	58	20	11	85.1	38	41	1.1	13	2	34	255	6	4

Personal life

O'Connell is married to Jael O'Connell (née Johnson), who played volleyball at Purdue.^[27]