Raiders Rumors: Jimmy Garoppolo Benched, Aidan O'Connell Will Take Over as QB1

Following the firing of head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler early Wednesday morning, the Las Vegas Raiders are reportedly making a quarterback change.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Raiders are expected to start Aidan O'Connell "this week and going forward, with Jimmy Garoppolo going to the bench."

Should the move become official, it will mark O'Connell's second career start, as he previously started Vegas' 24-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4.

In the wake of McDaniels' firing, linebackers coach Antonio Pierce is taking over as head coach, meaning he figures to have some say in the quarterback situation in Week 9 and beyond.

At 3-5, the Raiders technically aren't out of the playoff race, and while starting O'Connell may feel like a decision geared toward rebuilding, he may actually give them a better chance to win than Jimmy G.

After releasing longtime quarterback Derek Carr during the offseason, the Raiders signed Garoppolo to a three-year, $72.75 million contract in free agency.

The 31-year-old Garoppolo enjoyed enormous team success during his time with the San Francisco 49ers, going 38-17 as a starter and reaching the Super Bowl once.

There was hope Garoppolo could be an upgrade over Carr, but that clearly hasn't been the case. The veteran signal-caller is completing 65.5 percent of his passes for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns and a league-high nine interceptions.

If the Raiders do go away from Garoppolo in favor of O'Connell, it is possible that the final straw was Garoppolo's performance during Monday night's 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Garoppolo finished just 10-of-21 for 126 yards with no touchdowns and one pick, and he missed superstar wide receiver Davante Adams on a pair of wide-open deep passes that could have changed the complexion of the game.

In fairly limited action this season, O'Connell has largely been impressive. In his first career start, he went 24-of-39 for 238 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, and he scored a rushing touchdown.

Curiously, when Garoppolo missed a second game due to injury, McDaniels went with journeyman quarterback Brian Hoyer as the starter over O'Connell against the Chicago Bears in Week 7.

Hoyer struggled in the 30-12 loss, but O'Connell was solid in relief, going 10-of-13 for 75 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The 6'3, 210-pound O'Connell starred collegiately at Purdue, completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 9,219 yards, 65 touchdowns and 30 interceptions over four seasons, including two full campaigns as the starter.

O'Connell isn't afraid to sling the football all over the field, and he has a quality deep ball, which is something that has largely been missing from the offense with Garoppolo under center.

The Raiders' top two wide receivers in Adams and Jakobi Meyers combined for just two catches for 30 yards in Monday's loss to Detroit, which is unacceptable given their skill level and how much they are being paid.

The Raiders' hope will undoubtedly be that O'Connell can get Adams and Meyers more consistently involved and that he will make far more chunk plays in the passing game than Garoppolo has been.