Who Should I Start? Aidan O'Connell or Will Howard

Wednesday, August 27, 10:27 PM

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell (wrist) was placed on the Reserve/Injured List on Wednesday, per an announcement from the team. O'Connell suffered a fractured wrist in the team's final preseason game, which is expected to sideline him for six to eight weeks. O'Connell's placement on the Reserve/Injured list guarantees that he will miss at least the team's first four games, although the six-to-eight-week timeline indicates it will most likely be a longer absence. The Raiders acquired quarterback Kenny Pickett from the Browns on Monday to take O'Connell's place as the backup behind Geno Smith. Neither Pickett nor O'Connell will have any fantasy value in 2025 unless Smith were to get injured.

Monday, September 1, 11:37 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard (hand) remains in line to operate as the team's No. 3 quarterback once he's healthy enough to play. For now, Howard will miss the first four games of the regular season after being placed on injured reserve. However, once Pittsburgh activates him, he should replace Skylar Thompson as the third-string quarterback behind veterans Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph. Howard had an impressive senior season at Ohio State as he completed 73 percent of his passes for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while leading the Buckeyes to a national title. Howard didn't get into a preseason game, so Pittsburgh would truly need to have a quarterback emergency for the rookie to play a snap this season. However, plenty of teams have been forced to play or even start their third-string quarterback before, so we can't rule out Howard getting some reps when he's eventually activated in Week 5 or later.