Once the Raiders exited the 2024 draft without a new quarterback in tow, it became clear that 2023 fourth-rounder Aidan O’Connell and free agent acquisition Gardner Minshew would compete for the starting job. Despite Minshew’s more extensive experience and the fact that he signed a notable contract with Las Vegas this offseason – two years, $25MM – head coach Antonio Pierce said back in March that the road to the QB1 post would go through O’Connell.
Following mandatory minicamps in June, O’Connell seemingly still had a slight edge over Minshew, with the understanding that training camp would serve as the definitive test. As Albert Breer of SI.com writes, the competition between the two passers is real, and O’Connell continues to acquit himself nicely. Per Breer, the second-year pro carried himself like a starter throughout spring practices, played well, and won the trust of the club’s veteran core, including wideout Davante Adams (who appears to have had a say in the Raiders’ 2023 decision to bench veteran Jimmy Garoppolo in favor of O’Connell).
That said, Pierce has walked back his March comments just a bit, noting that there is not yet a leader in the Minshew-O’Connell race and that he is not in a hurry to name a starter.
Pierce said he would make his decision, “when it’s right, when it’s obvious…[when] it’s a no-brainer. No need to rush it. But when it’s clear, when it’s evident, then you need to make that decision” (via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez).
Obviously, those comments offer nothing by way of a timeframe, and it is fair to expect the competition to carry over into the preseason slate. In the meantime, Minshew and O’Connell will presumably continue splitting first-team reps.
O’Connell, who will turn 26 before the start of the 2024 campaign, struggled with turnovers early in his time at the helm in 2023 before settling down in that regard; over the course of his final six games, he posted a 9:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The Raiders relied on a ground-heavy attack during that time, but the Purdue alum offered enough to suggest he could develop into a starting-caliber option. Increasing his 202 passing yards per game average to an extent would be necessary to achieve that, of course.
The 28-year-old Minshew, by contrast, is more of a known commodity. The former Jaguar and Eagle joined the Colts last offseason to reunite with Shane Steichen, who served as Minshew’s offensive coordinator in Philadelphia over the 2021-22 seasons before accepting Indianapolis’ HC post in February 2023. That move proved to be an important one for player and team alike since Anthony Richardson spent much of his rookie campaign on the sidelines due to injury. Minshew logged 13 starts and threw for a career-high 3,305 yards last season, nearly leading Indianapolis to a postseason berth and earning a Pro Bowl invite in the process.
In the poll of PFR readership that we published earlier this month, nearly two-thirds of the voters predicted that Minshew would win the starting gig.