Sources - Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell expected to miss 4-6 weeks - ESPN
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell is expected to miss four to six weeks with a broken thumb on his right (throwing hand), sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday.
O'Connell, who was wearing a heavily wrapped splint on the thumb after Sunday's 20-15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, will undergo more tests Monday.
The quarterback said Sunday he suffered a similar-feeling injury in middle school.
It was during the Raiders' second offensive series of the day when, on second-and-10, O'Connell attempted a deep pass to the right side and was hit on his follow-through by Rams safety Kamren Curl. With no receiver in the vicinity, O'Connell was flagged for intentional grounding.
One play later, on third-and-21, O'Connell hit receiver DJ Turner for a 10-yard pickup. It would be O'Connell's last play of the game.
«I threw it, and it didn't feel great,» he said. «I tried to tough it out but, yeah, it does not feel great.»
O'Connell, who replaced Gardner Minshew as the starter last week, completed 6 of 10 passes for 52 yards against the Rams. Per ESPN Research, he was pressured on five of his 10 dropbacks (50%) and was 2-of-5 for 19 yards when pressured.
«Super unfortunate,» O'Connell said of the timing of the injury. «I was really looking forward to today and this opportunity, and so for it to be cut short like that was definitely hard.»
Minshew, who was benched in favor of O'Connell last week, replaced O'Connell. Signed to a two-year free agent contract with $15 million guaranteed, Minshew won a tight training camp battle with O'Connell. He completed a career-high 70.7% of his passes for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns in five starts but was also picked off five times in those games.
In his last game before getting