Who Should I Start? Shane Buechele or Aidan O'Connell

Saturday, August 23, 11:47 PM

Buffalo Bills quarterback Shane Buechele turned in the team's best passing performance of the preseason in a 23-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday. The 27-year-old demonstrated pinpoint accuracy throughout the night, completing 25 of his 30 attempts for 278 yards and a touchdown. He also used his mobility to his advantage and added another 20 yards on five rushes. Buechele played the entire game with the Bills' top three QBs - Josh Allen, Mitchell Trubisky, and Mike White - on the sideline. Trubisky and White have spent the summer battling for the No. 2 job, a role Buechele stands little to no chance of winning. His best bet to stay in the organization for a third straight year may be via the practice squad. Buechele was on Buffalo's practice squad in 2023, and he spent last year on Injured Reserve after suffering a neck injury in the preseason.

Wednesday, November 19, 3:15 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Wednesday that they activated quarterback Aidan O'Connell (wrist) from Injured Reserve. O'Connell has missed all of the 2025 season to this point after suffering a fractured right wrist in the preseason. It's possible that Geno Smith's poor play could open the door for O'Connell to make starts under center for the Raiders before the end of the year, but it's unclear if that's potentially in play as early as Week 12 when the team takes on the visiting Cleveland Browns this Sunday. Kenny Pickett has been serving as Smith's backup for the first 11 weeks of the season, but O'Connell could quickly jump him on the depth chart now that he's back. The 27-year-old has a 62.6% completion rate in his two years in the NFL, throwing for 3,830 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 20 games (17 starts).