The Las Vegas Raiders came into the NFL offseason with questions about what they would do at the quarterback position. Would they try to pull off a trade? Would they turn to the NFL Draft and try to get one of the elite young signal callers that were available?
When everything was said and done, the Raiders made one move at quarterback and it wasn’t the sizable move many were expecting.
Gardner Minshew was signed in NFL free agency to bring competition to second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell. They will have a battle during training camp and the preseason, which will decide who the Raiders’ starter under center will be.
Tom Telesco, the team’s general manager, spoke out about the upcoming competition recently on NFL Network.
“That’s the plan is to have both these guys really compete through the offseason program, but more so in training camp, and we’ll see how it plays out.”
Looking At The Las Vegas Raiders’ QB Situation
Honestly, O’Connell deserved another chance to be the team’s starting quarterback. He had some ups and downs during his rookie season, but every single rookie quarterback has them. Looking past those ups and downs, O’Connell showcased a lot of potential.
During his rookie season in 2023, O’Connell completed 62.1 percent of his pass attempts for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Those numbers aren’t amazing, but they show potential.
Minshew, on the other hand, ended up being the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts for most of the season. He took over when Anthony Richardson went down with a season-ending shoulder injury. In his 17 games played, Minshew ended up with a 62.2 completion percentage, 3,305 yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
Our prediction for the result of this quarterback competition is that O’Connell will end up winning the starting job. With the potential and talent he showed last season and an entire offseason of development, he should be a much better all-around quarterback than he was a rookie.
Antonio Pierce has also been vocal about his support for O’Connell. Davante Adams has also opened up with positive things to say about the young quarterback as well.
While the Raiders did not make any sizable moves to bring in a “better” quarterback this offseason, they are in a good place. They aren’t going to have elite quarterback play, but they should get enough from whoever they pick as the starter to be able to compete for a playoff spot.
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