Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce spoke with reporters Friday about how veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo dealt with being benched in favor of rookie Aidan O’Connell for not less than this Sunday’s house sport towards the 2-6 New York Giants.
“You’re sensitive to it, but you’re direct,” Pierce stated about his dialog with Garoppolo, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “You just nip it in the bud, which we did. We talked about it like grown men. But at the end of the day, Jimmy is on our team. Jimmy’s still a captain. Jimmy’s still a leader. I’m sure at some point, Jimmy’s going to have the ball in his hand again. Things happen. It’s the National Football League. You’re never going to say, ‘It’s 100 percent this is how we’re going to do it.’ Things can happen.”
With Las Vegas sitting at 3-5 on the season, Raiders proprietor Mark Davis fired each head coach Josh McDaniels and common supervisor Dave Ziegler hours after Tuesday’s NFL commerce deadline expired. Williams famous it is unclear if Davis or Pierce benched Garoppolo, however Rachel Gossen of the Raiders’ web site talked about that Pierce stated on Wednesday that O’Connell “gives us the best chance” to win.
According to ESPN stats, Garoppolo has thrown a league-worst 9 interceptions this season and is ranked thirtieth amongst certified gamers with a 35.4 adjusted QBR. He’s twenty ninth with a 78.1 passer score, and he tossed seven landing passes throughout six contests.
To examine, O’Connell accomplished 34 of 52 passes for 313 yards with a landing and two interceptions throughout his first two video games as a professional. He additionally recorded a dashing rating over these outings.
Garoppolo will function O’Connell’s main backup towards the Giants.
“I’m very appreciative to Jimmy,” Pierce continued. “Since Jimmy has been here, he’s done nothing but become a pro and really taught our team to be a pro and also how to win, and when I say win, I’m not talking about on the grass always. I’m talking about in the meeting rooms, how to carry yourself, how to talk, how to handle adverse situations, and that’s what I’m proud of.”
Garoppolo inked a three-year contract that reportedly might be value up to $72.5M with $33.75M assured at signing to be a part of the Raiders this previous offseason. It’s unknown what the franchise’s new management will consider the 32-year-old come March 2024. Unless Davis is actually forcing Pierce to play O’Connell till additional discover, the interim coach might determine as quickly as this coming Monday that he wants Garoppolo again atop the depth chart.
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