Training camp and the preseason in 2024 will decide plenty of position battles around the NFL. With respect to quarterbacks, though, few starting gigs are truly unaccounted for this offseason. The Raiders represent an exception. 
Vegas’ 2023 Jimmy Garoppolo investment did not pay off as hoped, and he was released after one injury-shortened campaign with the team. Garoppolo’s injury opened the door for Aidan O’Connell to see game action over the second half of the campaign, one in which Josh McDaniels was replaced by Antonio Pierce. The latter was given the full-time gig this spring, and that decision left a fan of O’Connell’s in the building.
Pierce said in March the 2023 fourth-rounder would open any QB competition in pole position. The Raiders were subsequently linked to adding a passer in the first round of the draft, with Pierce appearing to be more on board with a move up the order than new general manager Tom Telesco. In the end, Vegas remained in place on Day 1 and as a result did not add further competition to O’Connell and free agent signing Gardner Minshew.
The latter inked a two-year, $25MM deal in March to join the Raiders. That agreement – a rather lucrative one for a backup – put to rest consideration of a potential Justin Fields acquisition but did not ensure Minshew a first-team role. The 28-year-old was instead viewed as an insurance policy for any rookie the team added as an eventual starter. With such a move not coming to fruition, O’Connell and Minshew will compete for the Week 1 nod this summer.
O’Connell, 25, struggled with turnovers early in his time at the helm before settling down in that regard. Over the course of his final six games, he posted a 9:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Vegas 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.
Minshew, by contrast, is much more of a known commodity. The former Jaguar and Eagle joined the Colts last offseason to reunite with Shane Steichen. That move proved to be an important one for team and player with much of Anthony Richardson‘s rookie campaign spent 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.
The most recent update on the competition noted that O’Connell may have a slight edge on Minshew entering training camp as the team’s familiar QB option. The Raiders have a different offensive coordinator (Luke Getsy) in place for 2024, though, something which should level the playing field in that respect from Minshew’s perspective. The depth chart will be finalized based on each passer’s performances in the summer, which will consist of split training camp reps and could involve both getting significant preseason playing time.
In the end, who do you feel will win out and earn the starting gig? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and give your thoughts in the comments section below:
I think Gardner Minshew is one of the top 32 QBs in football, which I doubt O’Connell can be, even if that’s not exactly the most enthusiastic praise for a starting QB. I also think O’Connell might be the least mobile QB in football right now, which could be a more pronounced problem behind the Raiders’ line. O’Connell is fun to watch and could be a solid backup, but I don’t think he’s a starting quarterback in this league on more than a temporary basis.
Also, all else being equal, you think Minshew won’t win over a locker room?
I’d take 5 games under .500 Minshew for $15m (guaranteed) vs Herbert’s 2 games under .500 for +$50m.
I think it should be Minshew, but Pierce strikes me as very much a “my guys” kind of guy. O’Connell is his guy, Minshew is not.
Minshew did help deliver Pierce the only loss of his last four games. That might have made an impression. Between Minshew, Wilkins, and Mattison, the Raiders added at least three players who performed well against the Raiders in their few losses under Pierce.
I 100% agree with the logic, however, I would consider Minshew more of a Piece guy than O’Connell. McDaniels brought in O’Connell, not Pierce. He brought in Minshew after coaching O’Connell to close out the season.
With Gardener you know what you have. If he had a good team around him in Jacksonville he would have led them to the playoffs at least. Not saying he’s the second coming of Brady, but he’s at least better than half the starters in the NFL. Sorry, I’ve been a Minshew fan since the first time I saw him play. He’s a gamer, he’ll play hurt, and give it everything he has.
Glass half full kinda guy. Whether as starter or off bench he’ll bring 100% effort. Nice investment by Raiders.
AOC is going to surprise people this year. He has put a lot of work in the offseason and the team will rally behind him. People seem to forget that he was a rookie last year and thrown into two different systems in a short period of time.
100% agree – look at his last 4 games.
Last 4 games, hmm. I remember that terrible performance in KC where he didn’t even complete a pass after the 1st quarter. The team carried him. Also thinking of that colts game where Gardner our duel’d Aidan with a lesser talented team. Not hating Just calling a spade a spade.
I expect Pierce will just use whomever has the hot hand at the moment. I think both QBs are too inconsistent to claim the job full time. They are essentially stop gap guys competing for the #2 spot on the depth chart (once the Raiders draft a rookie).
I agree, which is why I thought they should have traded back for more picks next year to get a higher end QB in the draft.
Agreed with both. I will say, though, that I like Bowers more than the quarterbacks taken around his spot there. I thought that both Denver and Vegas would have been much, much better trading back and using those picks for other help, but at least Bowers is supposed to be a generational athletic talent at TE. We’ll see, of course, whether this is true. The issue for Vegas with the Bowers pick is that makes last year’s Michael Mayer pick a bit redundant, but if it’s an upgrade, Bowers could be very useful for a long time.
Of course, that pick may encourage the Raiders to run more two tight end sets (they should want to, even both these TEs are primarily receivers). That would be optimal, since they have now have two lead WRs in Adams and Meyers, and not a third, which used to be Renfrow. I’m not saying that the others are bad, or will be, but right now the Raiders’ top four receiving options have a chance of being two WRs and two TEs. Most importantly by far, this will encourage them to run the ball more in those two TE sets. If they get good at that, it will protect their QB, whether that’s Minshew (who is likely the better player) or O’Connell (obviously younger, and not mobile). That will really help keep the passing game efficient, but more importantly, can get a good groove going so that if the Raiders acquire a franchise type QB next year, he can drop in to an offense that already knows how to run the ball and not put too much pressure on him as he develops.
So, hopefully for Vegas, Bowers and Meyer can both see the field. Even though they’re primarily receivers, just their presence can help in play action or in giving run looks. Hopefully, though, they’ll both be able to hone their blocking and help prop the run game to protect their quarterbacks. I’d put Minshew in the lead right now, as he is definitely a superior player at this moment, but O’Connell does have longer to work in the environment and is a homegrown, younger player. Youth buys time, so to speak. The team isn’t tied to either, so I think that lemon is right in that whomever wins will only have the job as he wins. I expect that to be Minshew, but O’Connell being younger might have a longer leash. They’ll be more reluctant to change a second time, though, so whomever cones in next might benefit more than who wins now.
I forgot who commented the other that you should write for PFR, but they’re right! Always great analysis.
For ‘average’ QB’s, I like for them to have great TE’s, the infamous ‘security blanket’. Neither of the Raiders’ QB’s could be helped by T Hill (Guessing D Adams will be venting this season.). They don’t have the arms for deep shots, but in that TE range of 10-15 yards down the field Minshew should be fine getting the ball out.
One of my bigger takes for them trading back would be hit the true ‘reset’ button. Let AP get settled in for a year, understand this year most likely will be .500ish, & clean up the cap space for this season. Then have a more experienced HC with lots of draft capital and go for a franchise QB in 2025. I read somewhere this morning, they may go all in on Dak next year, fine. Then they could have built around him w/ the extra picks.
The problem around my thought of them trading back means their fans know they aren’t expecting much for the upcoming season. Whereas a high 1st round pick is much flashier.