Aidan O'Connell

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce confirmed QB Aidan O’Connell will not play in Friday’s preseason game against the 49ers.

Entering his second season, O’Connell will be the backup to Gardner Minshew heading into Week 1. With the quarterback pecking order now determined, Pierce is set to keep both guys on the bench without risk of further injury. It is an interesting approach as backup quarterbacks generally could use the extra reps, especially one entering his second season. However, this may indicate that O’Connell has a chance to start at some point in the season and the Raiders do not want to risk an injury to their viable “1b” quarterback. Carter Bradley and Nathan Peterman will split QB reps to finish the Raiders’ preseason. Pierce also added that rookie OL Jackson Powers-Johnson won’t play until the regular season as he was recently cleared from a stint on the PUP list due to a concussion.