Aidan O’Connell misses practice

Starting quarterback wasn’t on the injury report Wednesday but didn’t participate in Thursday’s session

Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback Aidan O’Connell missed practice on Thursday ahead of the Raiders’ Week 14 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. O’Connell wasn’t listed on Wednesday’s injury report but popped up on Thursday’s report with an illness.

At the time of writing, there’s no word on if the team expects him to be back tomorrow or healthy enough to play in Tampa Bay.

O’Connell is coming off the best game of his career, throwing for a career-high 340 yards with two touchdowns in last week’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. While the 2-10 Raiders have been officially eliminated from the playoffs, the second-year pro will use the team’s final five games of the season as an audition to prove he can be the starter long-term.

With O’Connell out, Desmond Ridder took reps with the first team in practice on Thursday. Ridder would likely be Las Vegas’ starter if O’Connell doesn’t shake the illness by the weekend, and undrafted rookie Carter Bradley would presumptively get called up from the practice squad to serve as the backup.

Also, missing from Thursday’s practice session were cornerback Nate Hobbs (ankle), running back Zamir White (quadricep), tight end Justin Shorter (back) and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (ankle). Hobbs and White also sat out on Wednesday while Shorter was on the report but participated in practice and Meyers was a new addition.

Meanwhile, running back Alexander Mattison (ankle) was limited while guard Jordan Meredith (shoulder) was a full participant for the second day in a row. Also, running back Ameer Abdullah (foot) is a new addition to the injury report but was a full participant in practice.