When Gardner Minshew joined the Raiders in free agency, he landed an opportunity to win a starting role. That decision was made in spite of a desire on the part of his former team to keep him in place. 
Minshew signed with the Colts last offseason, following Shane Steichen from Philadelphia to Indianapolis. The latter served as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator before taking the Colts’ head coaching gig. The pair continued to work together after Anthony Richardson‘s season-ending shoulder injury thrust Minshew into the starting lineup. After proving his value on a one-year contract, though, Minshew signed a two-year, $25MM Raiders pact.
Indianapolis wanted to re-sign the 2023 Pro Bowler, Vic Tafur of The Athletic notes (subscription required). The Colts were not, however, prepared to match the $15MM in guarantees Minshew secured from the Raiders. With Richardson still in place on his rookie pact (and positioned to be at full health in time for the start of the year), the Colts elected to add Joe Flacco as a new veteran insurance option.
In Vegas, Minshew has spent the offseason competing with Aidan O’Connell for the QB1 gig. The latter had a spell atop the depth chart to close out last season, and he frequently received praise from head coach Antonio Pierce leading up to the draft. After being heavily linked with Jayden Daniels, the Raiders did not select a signal-caller in April, paving the way for a true Minshew-vs.-O’Connell competition in training camp. No decision on a winner has been made yet, but a commitment is expected after Vegas’ second preseason contest. Minshew does not plan to alter his preparation in the future regardless of if he gets the nod for 2024.
“If I knew a better way of doing things, I would have been doing it, you know?” the 28-year-old said. “So you just keep going, trust the process, continue learning and get better. And, you know, support whatever decision [Pierce] makes.”
Over $3MM of Minshew’s 2025 base salary is guaranteed, so he has a strong chance of remaining with the Raiders regardless of how the coming season plays out. If he handles a heavy workload as he did last year, attention will turn to the Colts’ plan under center and how well Flacco performs if he is called into action.
He’s a poor man’s Brady. He would have been a better sign than Brisket was for the Pats.
No such thing as a poor man’s Brady.
Or a poor man’s Brandy.
LMAO…Brady lite, without the rings.
Minshew reminds me of Jeff Hostetler and Rich Gannon. Both started games but were always considered back ups until they were given a chance. Both succeeded as starters IMO.
I also think Minshew has more to give than Brissett.
He’s more of a rich mans Brisset
I still like Minshew. I like him a lot more than Brisket.
Okay, how many had “bidding war for Gardner Minshew” on their off-season bingo card???
I am a believer in having a backup who plays the same style as your starter, as it helps the rest of your offense maintain their identity if an injury takes place, thus Richardson and Minshew were not a good match.
I agree, but Flacco is even less similar. Minshew is closer to Richardson than Flacco is. So it’s even further from Richardson. He does, however, bring other specific things.
Flacco’s primary value, as much as he brings on the field, is not necessarily to play. He’s more there for Richardson’s development (not everyday you can get a Superbowl winning starter who is probably the best WB in a franchise’s history-albeit, a short but quality history) than to actually play, but he’s probably also the best backup in the league right now, too. Flacco can’t move much any more, and never was exactly a speed demon to begin with (his 95 yard near chase down of a Chris Harris INT not withstanding), but he’s definitely a better passer than Richardson is at the moment.
In a perfect world, without any pressure to select a franchise QB in the draft right then and there, I wonder if Steichen would have preferred to have a more traditional passer to begin his Colts tenure. In any case, he has Richardson now, and Flacco is there to give Richardson every angle of help that he can get, from his coaches and from an active veteran with winning experience. I do agree with you about the styles, and I think that that is the best way to approach competing. With less than twenty five starts (if I remember correctly) in college or pro ball under Richardson’s belt, I can see why Indy wanted to give him as much knowledge as possible to tap into. From a gameday standpoint, though, the playbook and mentality will be different.
Flacco’s experienced enough to let Steichen do some things in the passing game that maybe he couldn’t with Richardson or even another passing centric backup-even though it’d take adjusting from the rest of the offense, it could offer a good changeup. You couldn’t do that with just any backup, but with a long time starter like Flacco, you have more options.
Style similarities at QB help with the cohesion of the offense but you’re not going to force the opposing defenses to make any adjustments so that is the downside.
I don’t thin k you need a similar playing style. I think you need a backup where the playbook doesn’t have to change much at all if any. Minshew backing up Hurts and Richardson was that guy. Was he as fast and athletic as those two? No, but he has that “backyard” style of play where the playbook doesn’t need to really change. People dont really understand that about Minshew. Kid can move. In your scenario, if Flacco has to start, that playbook needs to change.
I don’t disagree. In fact, I’ll upvote that, because that’s my point as well. But I do understand that Flacco is not really there for his on field presence. His extensive experience does offer some advantages, however, in that there are certain plays that he probably doesn’t have to practice to know how to run, and some route concepts that should be familiar to him. Basically, Steichen can maybe run some passing plays that Flacco didn’t have to practice with Indy, first.
So, the playbook might change, but maybe it can add new some things that Richardson didn’t even do. That’s not the main reason for Flacco’s signing though, not by a long shot. That would be his mentor value for Richardson. And, Flacco’s a good backup in general, and his skill in that capacity is worth something on its own, in spite of any changes. I do actually agree with you, and with your distinction about the playbook consistency versus the style consistency being important. In this case, though, I do also see the thinking as to why the Colts signed Flacco in spite of that.
I see your points there. Very valid.
The main difference as backup between Minshew and Flacco is the Joe can match AR’s deep passing game better than Minshew. The running threat changes more than with Minshew but not the passing game as much.