Raiders Predicted to Cut Young QB Ahead of 2025 Season

Last offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders had an open competition at quarterback, and nobody knew for sure who was going to start in Week 1 until a few weeks before the season started. While new head coach Pete Carroll is going to give all of his quarterbacks a chance to win the starting job, Geno Smith is clearly going to be the starter going forward.

There was talk about Aidan O’Connell potentially getting traded around draft time, but it’s looking like he’ll be Smith’s backup in 2025. The team also drafted Cam Miller in the sixth round. He’s not likely to play in 2025, but he’ll likely stick around as a developmental project.

Carter Bradley joined the team as an undrafted free agent last offseason, but he could be the odd man out. The Athletic’s Tashan Reed recently put together a 53-man roster projection ahead of training camp, and he believes that Smith, O’Connell and Miller will make the roster, while Carter will be released.

“Miller’s reps in OTAs were extremely limited as the coaching staff focused on getting Smith and O’Connell acclimated to offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s system,” Reed wrote. “That’ll probably remain the case in training camp, but the rookie will get some burn in preseason games. He’s the most mobile quarterback on the roster, has a solid arm and is worth keeping around as a developmental backup.”

Bradley Does Have Ties to Carroll

Bradley has an uphill battle trying to make the Raiders’ roster. He was brought in by the previous regime, and despite having chaos at quarterback last season, the team never gave him a chance to play.

However, Bradley does have one unique connection to Carroll: He’s the son of former Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. Carroll and Bradley worked closely together for three seasons in Seattle. It’s fair to believe that Carroll has known Carter Bradley since he was a teenager.

The coach isn’t going to keep Bradley around because of his last name, but it could help him get a practice squad spot if he plays well in training camp and the preseason.

Carroll Talks Smith Trade

The Raiders had a huge need at quarterback this offseason, and many expected them to target a rookie early in the draft. Once Carroll came aboard, it was clear that he wanted a veteran.

That’s what led to the Raiders trading for Smith. Carroll had a chance to explain why he was so impressed with the quarterback while they were together in Seattle.

“There is a connection of the impact that the guy can have on everybody else,” Carroll said on the “Da Get Got” podcast. “The years that we spent together, the years that he was not playing, were the most significant years to me. Because he exemplified this mentality that I have not seen in everyone else. I would really tell you that he thought that every play he was going to be in every play. And somehow he held on to that kind of focus. He never lost it, he did not waver.

“Every play that the other guy was taking, it might be his last play and he might be ready, and he needs to be ready to go. And, you know, he had been through some pain and some hardship, and stuff like that, but the time we got him, he came with this mentality.”