Raiders’ Aidan O’Connell: ‘It Felt Disrespectful’ to Wear Derek Carr’s No. 4 Jersey

Julia StumbaughMay 22, 2024

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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell said his decision to switch to No. 12 this fall was made partly out of respect for former Raiders signal-caller Derek Carr.

“I just didn’t want to be four anymore. I didn’t pick four. I was actually nine and then Tyree [Wilson] wanted nine, so they gave nine to Tyree,” O’Connell said about the number change on Tuesday’s episode of The Rush with Maxx Crosby. “That was in like the first week I was here last year. And then they gave me four. And I was, you know, as a rookie, you just kind of do what you’re told and so I was cool with it.

“And then when the offseason hit, I’m like this is, felt to me, this is Derek’s number. He wore it for that long. He’s a franchise leader and all this stuff. It felt disrespectful. So I just kind of wanted to give that back to him.”

O’Connell wore No. 16 at Purdue before the Raiders selected him in the fourth round of the 2023 draft.

He then made 11 appearances wearing No. 4 during his rookie season with the Raiders.

Carr wore the same jersey number through nine seasons with the franchise prior to leaving to join the New Orleans Saints in free agency last March.

Carr, who is still wearing No. 4 in New Orleans, left Las Vegas as the franchise’s all-time leader with 35,222 passing yards and 217 touchdowns.

That legacy is enough for O’Connell not to want to wear No. 4 as he returns to Las Vegas to battle to keep the QB1 spot he earned from Jimmy Garoppolo last fall. He will be competing with veteran signal-caller Gardner Minshew for the role this offseason.