The Las Vegas Raiders seem to have a good thing going right now, with the team currently riding a two-game winning streak after getting off to a rough start to the 2023 NFL season.
Unfortunately, the team is dealing with another injury issue for veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who went down in last week’s game against the New England Patriots.
In that game, Garoppolo suffered a back injury and had to be taken to the hospital to get checked out.
Even though the injury isn’t considered serious, Garoppolo will miss Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, which put the coaching staff in a tough spot choosing between popular rookie Aidan O’Connell and veteran Brian Hoyer to fill the void in Week 7.
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Raiders have decided to go with the veteran over the rookie.
Brian Hoyer will be the starting quarterback for the Raiders against the Bears, per source.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) October 20, 2023
Although Hoyer replaced Garoppolo last week and helped lead the Raiders to a win over his former team, O’Connell played well during his first start a few weeks ago against the Los Angeles Chargers.
O’Connell has gotten a lot of buzz this year as he was impressive in the preseason and had a solid performance against the Chargers, which makes this decision a little perplexing, but head coach Josh McDaniels clearly seems more comfortable with Hoyer taking the reins.
However, if Hoyer struggles against one of the worst teams in the league and McDaniels doesn’t make the switch, fans of the franchise will be furious, especially considering the team still has a shot at making the playoffs, sitting at .500 (3-3).
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