Gutierrez: Jameis, DTR, Rypien? Raiders' backup QB role is open season after O'Connell injury

Aug 24, 2025 at 02:18 PM

Paul Gutierrez

Raiders Columnist

Welcome to the latest game of Connect-The-Dots, Raiders backup quarterback edition.

Because with Aidan O'Connell going down Saturday night with a broken right (passing) wrist in the Raiders' exhibition finale and being lost for "eight weeks, or something like that," per coach Pete Carroll, the hunt is on for a viable QB2.

Some 48 hours before rosters must be cut down to 53 players…plus two more who can be placed on injured reserve with a designation to return after at least four weeks.

Now, Carroll is not about to show his hand when it comes to what, exactly, he's looking for in a backup to Geno Smith. Far from it.

But he did allow that he wants, er, needs, someone with pelts on the wall.

"All possibilities are available right now, you know what I mean?" Carroll said Sunday. "Wherever they come from. We're looking everywhere to see if we can find the best guy that fits us.

"We're looking for an experienced player that can help us."

Fair enough. But that doesn't make the Raiders unique. What NFL team wouldn't want an experienced, plug-and-play backup QB?

Yes, the Raiders used a sixth-round draft pick on FCS stud Cam Miller this spring. And, sure, Miller got more run than expected in the preseason, especially in Arizona on Saturday night.

But more experience is needed.

Asked what he'd like to see from Miller to fully embrace him as QB2, Carroll smiled.

"A couple of years of playing," Carroll said with a soft laugh. "He's just a raw kid trying to do it. He's made some good plays, he's tough and he shows a knack for playing the spot. But he just needs a ton of plays. So, we'd like to buy some more time with him, as much as we could."

Miller, meanwhile, was still trying to soak in O'Connell going down in the Raiders postgame locker room.

"There's a lot of valuable lessons to be learned - I've got to improve as a quarterback, I've got to improve as a leader. There's a lot of different situations I was thrown in," Miller said after completing 12-of-24 attempts for 102 yards and a 61.5 passer rating while taking four sacks against the Cardinals.

"I've got to absorb more, I've got to study more and I've got to be better."

In three preseason games, Miller threw for 203 yards, on 20-of-37 passing, with a TD and an INT and was sacked seven times.

"I have no idea what's going to change," Miller said of his role. "I'm just hoping [Aidan] can recover fast. We need him on this football team, in the locker room, outside of the locker room."

Look, Smith is the unquestioned starter. The starting offense ran smoothly under his control, scoring two TDs and a field goal on its final three series of the preseason. He commands the locker room and has a preternatural gift in his relationship with Carroll.

But in the hard-hitting NFL, the backup is always just one snap away from taking the field.

Hence Miller not being ready yet and the Raiders on the hunt.

Which brings us to our heretofore mentioned Silver and Black-themed game.

Quarterbacks are starting to wash up on the waiver wire shores and it's time to connect said dots, right?

With guys like Brett Rypien, who spent time on Carroll's Seahawks practice squad in 2023. Still, Rypien, whose uncle Mark Rypien won a Super Bowl with Washington in 1992, has started just 4 of 10 games since entering the NFL in 2020.

Guys like Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who played at UCLA for Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. DTR, who went to high school in Las Vegas, started five of 15 games he played in for the Browns, who drafted him in the fifth round in 2023.

Speaking of the Browns, are they really going to keep four QBs on their initial 53-man roster in Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders after cutting Tyler Huntley on Sunday, or might one of them be available?

Perhaps the biggest name to keep an eye on is Jameis Winston, who is a cut candidate in the Meadowlands. Winston, the No. 1 pick of the 2015 draft, has started 87 of 105 games in his career for the Buccaneers, Saints and Browns before signing with the Giants this offseason.

To quote Carroll, "A guy that's had game experience is really huge to me."

Connecting any dots yet?

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Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll arrives to the preseason away game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.