The goal of the third and final preseason game for any NFL team is clear. Get out healthy. Sure, teams like Pittsburgh can use it as a dress rehearsal before regular season action. But with two weeks until the games start counting, there’s less time to recover from injuries. The Steelers didn’t leave unscathed, losing rookie DL Derrick Harmon to a knee injury that figures to keep him out for at least the season opener, if not longer. Teams around the league ran into similar bad luck. Late last night, backup Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell fractured his wrist. The Raiders’ loss could prove to be the Steelers’ gain.
With thin quarterback depth behind starter Geno Smith, Las Vegas figures to search for a veteran backup. O’Connell will be shelved 6-8 weeks and almost certain to begin the season on injured reserve, leaving rookie Cam Miller as the current No. 2. That’s going to change. The Raiders won’t enter the season with an undersized and late-round rookie one snap away from dictating how well Pete Carroll’s first season with the Raiders goes.
Carroll told the media today that they are looking for “an experienced player who can help us” in the backup QB market, per Adam Schefter on X.
Enter Skylar Thompson. His strong summer could make for a logical trade candidate. Though Pittsburgh could easily keep him on its own roster as the No. 3 and place Will Howard on IR to open the year, if there’s a chance to squeeze a Day Three draft pick out of Thompson, that’s hard to ignore. As much as fans think he should replace Mason Rudolph as the No. 2, he won’t. Nor should he. Which makes a trade worth exploring.
Thompson is a capable short-term backup with regular season and playoff experience. Cleary, he’s no one’s answer to a long-term solution. But he had as good a summer as anyone could expect. League-wide, he finished fourth in passing yards, tied-fourth in touchdown passes, and fourth in passer rating among those with 30-plus preseason attempts.
Flipping Thompson to the Raiders wouldn’t bring in a big haul. A Day Three pick swap, maybe a straight-up sixth or seventh-round pick. But Pittsburgh has been eager to load up on 2026 draft picks in what could be the team’s largest collection of selections in recent memory – or more ammunition to use them in a trade pursuing a first-round quarterback. Clearly, a late round pick won’t move the needle in landing the next franchise great. But the more options and flexibility a team has in its draft capital, the easier it is to navigate those waters.
This move is better than our previous suggestion of sending Thompson to the New York Jets. Not only is veteran Tyrod Taylor expected to be ready near the start of the season, the Steelers don’t play the Raiders this regular season. Trading Thompson to New York lets him spill all of Arthur Smith’s secrets ahead of Week One.
Las Vegas could consider other options. The Cleveland Browns will carry four quarterbacks but not five, meaning Tyler Huntley is odd-man out. He could easily be signed and jump in as the team’s No. 2 option. But there’s only so many veteran quarterbacks floating out there this time of year. If Raiders’ pro personnel scouts are impressed with the job Thompson has done, and they should be, maybe a deal can be made.
