HENDERSON, Nev. – Aidan O’Connell, recovering from a broken thumb on his right (passing) hand, will start at quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders at the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday, coach Antonio Pierce said Wednesday.

“Aidan looks good,” Pierce said. “We’re going to throw the ball a little bit in practice today, but he’s done well in the last two days with some passes and of course indoor (practice), but we’ll see what it looks like today.”

“But we have a good feeling about Aidan. He’s obviously been a good fit for him the entire time he’s been on IR.”

O’Connell, who has been on injured reserve since October 22, had his training window open on Monday.

“It’s not 100%, but it’s pretty close,” O’Connell said Tuesday. “Throwing has felt pretty good the last few days. In the last few weeks I’ve been able to start throwing a bit and that’s been good. It was kind of horrible not being able to do that.”

“It was great to go out there, grab the football and throw a little bit. So, yeah, we’re progressing the way we want… it’s not just throwing the ball 5 yards to a guy, it’s throwing routes deeper and things like that.

O’Connell lost a training camp battle to free agent signee Gardner Minshew, but took over for an ineffective Minshew in Week 6. It was in O’Connell’s second start on October 22 with the Los Angeles Rams when he broke his thumb following up on a pass attempt.

“It was a broken bone, so there’s not much you can do except sit there and wait, which isn’t ideal,” O’Connell said. “But there are some modalities you can use in the training room and then just try to get soft tissue and range of motion, all of those things. But yeah, a lot of it was sitting around and waiting, which isn’t my favorite thing to do.”

After O’Connell’s injury, Minshew resumed his career as a starter, but he suffered a season-ending broken collarbone in the Raiders’ 29-19 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

O’Connell, who missed four games, was then eligible to come off IR.

Desmond Ridder, who was signed off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad on Oct. 22, has played sparingly in three games, completing 16 of 26 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown with a lost fumble. He was fired six times.

O’Connell has now appeared in four games and two starts and has passed for 455 yards, completing 52 of 82 attempts with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was fired three times.

He is the last quarterback to beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, helping the Raiders to a 20-14 win there last Christmas Day despite not completing a pass after the first quarter.

The Chiefs now have the best record in the NFL with the Lions at 10-1, while the Raiders have the worst record with the Giants at 2-9.

“Let’s call it what it is…the best team in football versus the worst team in football,” Pierce said. “Let’s change the narrative, right? Let’s just go out there, make it a dog fight, make it ugly, make it rough. It’s Black Friday, let’s create a little chaos. Let’s get back to Raider football and have some fun and (show). ) some personality and let it go.