With Jimmy Garoppolo benched, how do the Raiders move forward at quarterback long term?

Jimmy Garoppolo was the mistake they just couldn’t overcome. General manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels made plenty of mistakes before Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis fired them both on Tuesday, but it was their choice at quarterback that ultimately did them in.

Their earlier decision to part ways with Derek Carr this past offseason was a completely justifiable move. The franchise had failed to win a single playoff game in Carr’s nine years as a starter and made the playoffs only twice. Carr was coming off one of the worst seasons of his career in 2022. Even though they extended his contract just a few months earlier, releasing Carr (who went in to sign with the New Orleans Saints) could easily be explained. Davis himself agreed and signed off on it.

Most teams viewed O’Connell as a developmental backup going into this year’s draft, and that’s what the Raiders intended him to be. But he showed more promise than expected in the preseason and looked functional despite committing three turnovers in a Week 4 start against the Los Angeles Chargers. Even if O’Connell doesn’t turn into the long-term answer at quarterback, the Raiders don’t have anything to lose by giving themselves a chance to find out.

How O’Connell plays from here will be a factor, certainly, but it remains unclear how the Raiders will move forward at quarterback after all but sealing Garoppolo’s fate with the franchise.

On the surface, moving on from Garoppolo after this season seems an easy choice to make, but doing so would be costly. If they release him before June 1, 2024, the Raiders would take a $28.3 million dead-cap hit in 2024, according to Spotrac. The 2024 hit would be reduced to $15.5 million if they cut him with a post-June 1 designation, but then they’d also take a $12.8 million dead-money hit in 2025. Both of those figures would be far more favorable for the Raiders if they traded Garoppolo, but it’s highly unlikely that another team would take him on at his salary given his current level of play.

In many ways, the Raiders find themselves facing the same conundrum they wound up in toward the end of last season. Carr had one of the worst seasons of his career and played a big role in the team finishing 6-11. Ziegler, McDaniels and Davis agreed that it was time for him to go.

Heading into this offseason, Garoppolo wasn’t the Raiders’ first choice to succeed Carr. They initially had their sights set on Tom Brady, who was set to become a free agent, but the greatest quarterback of all time opted to retire for a second time. From there, the Raiders explored trade talks with the Green Bay Packers to inquire about quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but they deemed the price — both the trade compensation and Rodgers’ pay — too steep. They then looked into trading for the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft before the Bears made a deal with the Panthers, but that asking price was too rich for their blood, too.

The Raiders held the No. 7 pick in the draft and could’ve still made a move for a quarterback in the first round, but they weren’t as high on the draft class beyond former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. So, with free agency approaching, the Raiders turned to …