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Following Saturday’s Las Vegas Raiders preseason loss to the Dallas Cowboys, head coach Antonio Pierce revealed his exact timeline for when the starting quarterback would be announced. This echoed an earlier report from Pierce, where he stated his plans to make the QB decision after two weeks of preseason play.
By Sunday morning, Pierce had gathered enough information to make his decision between second-year-pro Aidan O’Connell and sixth-year-pro Gardner Minshew II. Now, we finally have an announcement.
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On Sunday, head coach Antonio Pierce held a press conference where he announced Gardner Minshew as the Las Vegas Raiders’ starting quarterback. Pierce stated that he made this decision based on all the information he gathered between the two QBs, dating back to the first moment they arrived in minicamp this summer.
Yet, getting a chance to see how both players improved from that point, getting integrated into the offense, leading their teammates in practices, scrimmages, and two preseason games are what led to this decision.
Some of the things that helped Minshew win the job were his advanced experience, which includes 37 starts, and 49 games played dating back to 2019. However, he also liked how Minshew processes information and leads the Raiders into battle.
Minshew’s first test with the Raiders arrives in Week 1, against the division rival Los Angeles Chargers. While Minshew has won the job for now, it doesn’t mean he’ll remain the full-time starter for all 17 games. First and foremost, he needs to stay healthy. Moreso, he needs to validate Pierce’s decision to trust him by helping the Raiders improve from having the 10th-worst scoring offense in 2023.
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