Josh McDaniels says Hoyer, O’Connell will both get reps this week
Oct 18, 2023, 1:41 PM | Updated: Oct 31, 2023, 11:12 pm
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Both the Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders sound unsure of who will be their starting quarterback come Sunday.
Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a back injury in the second quarter of the team’s 21-17 win Sunday. He did not return and was replaced by veteran Brian Hoyer. On Wednesday, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels did not have a update on Garoppolo’s health, saying they need to see how he progresses through the week.
As for who could start on Sunday, McDaniels didn’t have an answer. Rookie Aidan O’Connell has already started one game for the Raiders in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Both of them will get opportunities today and we’ll see how today goes, see what the prognosis is and how practice goes, see how Jimmy’s feeling,” McDaniels said. “There’s a few balls in the air right now that we’ll have to sort through.”
In Chicago, quarterback Justin Fields suffered a thumb injury and is currently listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Raiders. Rookie Tyson Bagent filled in for Fields and is expected to get the start Sunday for Chicago. Whether it’s Fields or Bagent, Josh McDaniels is making sure his team will be ready.
“I think most importantly, is to understand the skill set of the player you’re talking about and in this case, it’s multiple players. We have to be able to defend whoever’s out there. So, we always talk about the backup quarterback anyway. Last week was no different, you know what I mean? We had some tape on [Malik] Cunningham and knew that there might be something where he could potentially be a factor and so you have to prepare and do your due diligence,” McDaniels said. “So, like I said, we have all the tape on him. We’ll watch it all, he’s played in their system and their offense, he did some good things in the preseason, certainly. He can do some things with his legs, he finds the right people in the passing game, he’s accurate, he has a good arm. So, I mean, there’s enough to go off of, for sure.”
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