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Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell suffered a broken thumb to his right (throwing) hand in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
O’Connell will undergo more tests Monday to determine how long he will miss, the source said.
Gardner Minshew, who was benched in favor of O’Connell last week, replaced O’Connell in Sunday’s game.
But with the Raiders having no emergency third QB on the roster — receiver Jakobi Meyers was the player but is missing his second consecutive game with an ankle injury — O’Connell remained questionable to return, in case Minshew goes down.
O’Connell appeared to hit his hand awkwardly on the outstretched hand of onrushing Rams safety Kam Curl on a deep throw. O’Connell, who had the thumb heavily wrapped after returning from the locker room, completed 6 of 10 passes for 52 yards against the Rams. Per ESPN Research, he was pressured on 5 of his 10 dropbacks (50%) and was 2-of-5 for 19 yards when pressured.
Minshew, signed to a two-year free-agent contract with $15 million guaranteed, won a tight training camp battle with O’Connell. Minshew was completing a career-high 70.7% of his passes, for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns but has also been picked off five times.
In his last game before his benching, Minshew threw a 100-yard pick-six against the Denver Broncos in Week 5, turning a potential 17-3 Raiders lead into a 10-10 game in an eventual 34-18 loss. Minshew had a career-low 40.2 QBR at the time of his benching.
Against the Rams, Minshew was 8-of-16 for 90 yards in the first half, with an interception and a lost fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
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