Solon, IA Quarterback Cam Miller Shines in His Brief NFL Debut

NFL preseason games have begun. If you're a nerd like me, you watch quite a bit of it, even if the games are often aesthetically ugly and more about basic schematics and seeing what fringe roster players can/might bring to the table. For me, the entertainment factor comes in seeing a barrage of quarterbacks we're less likely to see play in the regular season.

One of the quarterbacks I've got my eye on this preseason is Cam Miller, a native of Solon, IA. When he was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft in April, I was supremely excited for some additional Iowa representation in the NFL. Now, I watch and root for both him and Jack Plummer (QB, Carolina Panthers) of Dubuque to make their respective rosters.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

Miller, like the rest of the Raiders veterans, rookies, and free agents, got a chance to play in last night's game against the Seattle Seahawks. The game might've ended in a 23-23 tie, but that's a moral victory for Las Vegas, who was trailing 16-3 at halftime and looked overwhelmed and out of sorts for much of the early part of the game.

While incumbent Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell got the bulk of the playing time, Miller did see some action. Statistically speaking, he had the best performance of the three Raiders quarterbacks who saw the field, which also included Geno Smith, acquired in March, who is set to be the team's starter.

In very limited action that lasted a couple series, Miller completed 6 of his 7 passes for 76 yards, and also tossed a touchdown to Shedrick Jackson. The touchdown was a slant-and-go route that had Miller throw a beautiful ball to the right side of the field that hit Jackson while he was in stride.

Cam Miller spent his entire collegiate career (five seasons) with the North Dakota State Bison. During his time at North Dakota State, Miller led the Bison to two FCS National Championship victories (2021 and 2024), and was named MVP for his performance in the 2024 Championship game. In his career as a Bison, he threw for just under 10,000 yards, 81 touchdowns, and had a win-loss record of 45-11.

He is one of several signal callers to be drafted over the last eight years. Carson Wentz (2017), Easton Stick (2019), and Trey Lance (2021) are the others.

Prior to that, for Solon High School, Miller had a notable, dual-threat career, throwing for 2,436 yards and 28 touchdowns while also rushing for 840 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Raiders were in quarterback purgatory when the 2024 season concluded. Under new head coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Spytek (a Wisconsin native, I'll add), the Raiders traded for Geno Smith to serve as their starting quarterback. The preseason is already set to be a stiff competition to backup Smith, between Miller and Aidan O'Connell. O'Connell is entering his third season with Las Vegas.

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See a full recap of the Las Vegas Raiders' 23-23 tie against the Seattle Seahawks, which included the debut of Iowa native Cam Miller, on ESPN's website.