The Las Vegas Raiders had quite the battle going on this summer for the QB1 job between veteran Gardner Minshew and youngster Aidan O'Connell, but on Sunday, head coach Antonio Pierce made his decision.
Minshew will start the 2024 season as the starter after signing as a free agent this offseason. Following his announcement, Pierce explained why he believes Minshew is the best fit right now. Via ESPN:
“A lot of things went into it,” Pierce said. “It wasn't based off of [solely] last night. There's a lot of factors. So, we feel like Gardner gives us the best opportunity to get off to a fast start, and that's what we're going with. We support him, our team's behind it, our staff's behind it, the organization's behind it.”
Minshew showed well in preseason action, completing 16 of 33 passes for 212 yards in two games. Pierce said the QB's experience played a big part in naming him QB1 while also pointing out that he liked how Minshew carried himself in practice:
“The operation, the process and just everything we saw in practice,” Pierce said. “Some of it showed up in the games. A lot of stuff we can get better at. I don't think anything here is a finished product but based off of where we want to go in the first quarter of the season, we feel like Gardner gives us the best opportunity.”
Is Gardner Minshew the answer for the Raiders?
To be brutally honest, neither Minshew nor O'Connell are exactly top signal-callers in the NFL. But, Minshew likely gives the Raiders the best chance to win right now. This is his fourth team and although the 28-year-old has mostly been a backup, he has starter experience, too.
Minshew went 7-6 as the Colts' QB1 last year after rookie Anthony Richardson suffered a season-ending injury. He is capable of getting the job done. Pierce dove deeper into why he picked Minshew over O'Connell:
“His personality is infectious, his energy is infectious, his leadership is infectious,” Pierce said of Minshew. “Things of improvement — [his] footwork in the pocket, staying on script.
“There is some magic about him when he does break the pocket and does his thing, but there's a lot of times where if the first [or] second read is there, we've got to let it rip. So, he understands that. And more importantly, taking care of the football.”
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O'Connell proved last year that he can be a starter at the NFL level, too. He tossed eight TDs across the final four games and didn't get picked off once. Pierce made him QB1 after taking over as head coach. The Raiders boss knows O'Connell's talent:
“Those two gentlemen are professionals,” Pierce said. “The way they've handled this competition has really resonated throughout our building … they've cheered each other on, they've been good teammates, they've brought out the best version of each other in practices and, I think, in the games. They both took it on the chin like a champ. And I told them, just both be ready. In the National Football League, you never know.
“But Aidan is a young player that has a tremendous upside that I think will still be a starter here in this league … will be a starter at some point in this league, if it's this year or next year, but he will play in games. And I think Gardner has done a good job of … being that older presence. He's played a couple of years in the league, and he's been through some adversity, so that's been good for Aidan.”
Las Vegas opens up the 24′ campaign on September 8th against the Los Angeles Chargers.
