Raiders happy to see former QB in season finale: ‘We miss him’

The Raiders will smile when they see Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham on Sunday.

Stidham’s time in Las Vegas was short. But the impact he made was real.

Stidham was a popular player his one season with the Raiders, which included two starts at the end of the year when the team moved on from quarterback Derek Carr.

Stidham is in a similar position with 8-8 Denver. The Broncos’ decision to cut ties with quarterback Russell Wilson means Stidham started last week’s 16-9 win against the Chargers. He will get the nod again in Sunday’s finale against his old teammates at Allegiant Stadium.

“Yeah, we’re excited. We’re excited to see Stidham. We miss him,” Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce said. “We want to see him up close and personal.”

Some players want to see Stidham more than others, according to Pierce.

He said there was one prominent name on the Raiders (7-9) who can’t wait to get reacquainted with their old QB.

“Maxx Crosby,” Pierce said, with a smile.

That is fine with Stidham.

His emotions about facing his former team are surpassed only by his excitement at getting a chance at playing time. It’s been a rare occurrence over his four NFL seasons.

Stidham’s start against the Chargers was just the third of his career. It was also his first win since leading Auburn to a 63-14 victory against Purdue in the 2018 Music City Bowl.

Raiders rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell watched from the sideline that day as a Boilermaker sophomore.

“It’s a small world sometimes,” O’Connell said.

Stidham gets the opportunity to prove himself again Sunday. It’s something he doesn’t take lightly.

“I feel like I can speak for most players when I say this: When you’re playing in the NFL, you want to be on the field,” Stidham said. “And the reality is that doesn’t happen for everybody at every given moment.”

Stidham, 27, said he never let the lack of playing time affect his belief in himself. He’s completed 59.5 percent of his passes in the NFL with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.

He threw for 224 yards with one touchdown and no picks last week against the Chargers.

“It’s one of those things where I’ve always been very confident in the person and player I am, but until you get out there and you’re doing it against the best guys in the world at their position, you’re just not out there,” Stidham said. “You don’t know what you don’t know. It was great to get out there last year and do it and then obviously last week and do it again.”

Stidham hopes to close out the season with a second straight win. It would be a strong way to end his first year with the Broncos, who he joined on a two-year, $10 million contract in March.

“My preparation is not changing from last week to this week,” Stidham said. “That’s how I’ve always prepared. But obviously, it was good to go out there and get the win last week and build off of that going into this last game of the season. Just trying to clean up these last few little things we have this week and go out there on Sunday and hopefully get a win.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.