The Las Vegas Raiders will have quarterbacks Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O’Connell compete for the starting job this week in practice, league sources said Tuesday. Minshew has started the first five games of the 2024 season but was benched in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos after throwing two interceptions.
The Raiders signed Minshew, 28, to a two-year, $25 million contract (with $15 million guaranteed) this offseason, and he beat out O’Connell for the starting job in a too-close-for-comfort battle in training camp. Minshew has actually completed a career-high 71 percent of his passes this season but is off badly when he misses and has thrown for 1,014 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions.
O’Connell, 26, started 10 games as a rookie last year and played during garbage time in a blowout loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 22, throwing a touchdown. On Sunday, he was 10-of-20 for 94 yards with an interception.
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“Even from live (action) and the film, we know what we’re going to get with Aidan, right?” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said Monday. “That back foot hits the ground, the ball comes out. I understand he’s a cerebral player, knows where the ball needs to go. So I’ve seen enough Aidan last year and a lot this year. I know what to expect when Aidan gets in the game.”
The bar seems to be a bit higher still for Minshew.
While O’Connell was slightly more accurate than Minshew in training camp and the preseason, it was Minshew’s mobility and experience that won him the job. Despite that, he has been hit a lot so far this season (15 sacks in five games) behind a disappointing offensive line, so there is concern about how the less-mobile O’Connell would fare under duress. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday’s opponents, have a great pass rush, while the Raiders rank 30th in the league in running the ball, so one could see the benefit of sticking with Minshew.
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Pierce thought Minshew lost some confidence after his 100-yard pick six to Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain, which came when the quarterback’s pass sailed over the head of an open Brock Bowers. The Raiders were driving to go up 17-3 — but the 14-point swing instead resulted in the game being tied.
“That was very deflating,” Pierce said. “I think everybody understood and saw that. But then (Minshew) went back out there, and I thought there were some opportunities for us to make plays. And at that point, we just didn’t. I thought, offensively, we kind of hit the mud.”
O’Connell will have three days of practice, starting Wednesday, to leave Minshew in the mud, but the odds seem stacked against him.
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(Photo of Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew II: Brooke Sutton / Getty Images)
