Raiders current plan at QB is better without Daniel Jones in the mix

The New York Giants shook things up in a major way, electing to release Daniel Jones from their active roster just days after announcing that he was benched. Despite his lackluster play for much of his Giants tenure, Jones has received tons of interest on the open market.

The Las Vegas Raiders were one of several teams immediately linked to Jones, and it isn't hard to see why. Gardner Minshew suffered a season-ending injury, during their Week 12 loss, and Desmond Ridder certainly isn't the answer under center.

While Jones joining the Raiders made sense, Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report revealed that Jones has eliminated Las Vegas from contention. He seems to be prioritizing joining a playoff team, and with the Raiders being 2-9, they're nowhere near that.

It might've been a little bit intriguing to see Jones, a former first-round pick who has shown some flashes of potential throughout his career with the Raiders, missing out on him might be for the best for Las Vegas.

Raiders are better off going with current QB plan rather than signing Daniel Jones

With a Black Friday matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on deck, the Raiders are planning on starting Aidan O'Connell under center according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. He had been sidelined since Week 7 with a broken thumb, but O'Connell appears ready to go for this game.

The main reason why Raiders fans had reason to be intrigued with the idea of signing Jones has to do with the fact that guys like Ridder and O'Connell haven't shown much. In his 15 appearances (12 starts) since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by Las Vegas, he has completed 62.4 percent of his throws for 2,673 yards and 14 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. He hasn't been awful, but also hasn't been close to stellar.

While O'Connell hasn't shown much, he does only have 15 games under his belt. He should be given the chance to see if he can be counted on as part of the future. If the answer is no (which is likely), then the Raiders can draft or acquire someone else this coming offseason.

The odds are against O'Connell doing much as the starter, but how sure are we that Jones would be any better? He'd have to learn a new playbook very quickly, and then join a team that is out of contention and already traded Davante Adams. Brock Bowers is there, but Jones would be downgrading in the backfield, the receiver room, and with the offensive line from where he was in New York. Chances are, he wouldn't look like their future under center either.

In this case, it's better for the Raiders to get a look at a quarterback in O'Connell who they drafted and is under contract for another two years after this one. If he plays well, then the Raiders will have an interesting offseason ahead of them. If he doesn't, no true harm is done. The Raiders would then know that O'Connell is not the guy, they'd finish with a top draft pick and can find a way to get his successor.

Getting a look at Jones would've been more entertaining for sure, but sticking with O'Connell feels like the better play for the franchise at this point.