LAS VEGAS — Aidan O’Connell should be the Las Vegas Raiders’ starting quarterback, but it’s hard to feel optimistic about what that means for the offense in 2024.
Coach Antonio Pierce said earlier this week that he would announce a starting quarterback after the Raiders’ second preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, and O’Connell outplayed free agent signing Gardner Minshew in the Raiders’ 27-12 loss. The issue was O’Connell wasn’t good; he just wasn’t as bad as Minshew.
O’Connell played four possessions against the Cowboys’ reserves. He completed 14 of 20 passes for 96 yards and one touchdown, but he also threw an ugly pick six on his final attempt of the game.
“I just stared it down,” O’Connell said afterward. “(My performance) was up-and-down. … I missed some throws and missed some reads, too. And then, obviously, the pick six kind of lingers in your mind.”
Picked and going the other way for a @dallascowboys TD!
📺: #DALvsLV on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/rXtTx3e2bP— NFL (@NFL) August 18, 2024
Minshew played five drives and completed just 10 of 21 passes for 95 yards. Pierce didn’t name a starter in his postgame press conference. He’ll huddle with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and general manager Tom Telesco before making that decision.
“It’s going to be everything,” Pierce said Saturday when asked what factors will play into the decision. “Command of the offense, the operational part, efficiency. The turnovers are huge, right? Taking care of the football is going to be important for our team. And then I think it’s just sitting there with Telesco and Luke over a couple of days and really pinpointing who’s going to get us off to a fast start and get us to where we want to be in that first quarter of the season.”
Despite O’Connell’s rough ending, he should get the nod. O’Connell started the final nine games last season, but the Raiders signed Minshew to a two-year, $25 million contract with $15 million guaranteed this offseason. Making more money didn’t ensure that Minshew would get the starting nod, but it was fair to question how much the Raiders brass believed in O’Connell. After all, he was below average at best in 10 starts as a rookie.
To take the job from O’Connell, Minshew was always going to have to separate himself. That has yet to happen, and it’s hard to rationalize him supplanting O’Connell.
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Minshew is more mobile than O’Connell, has a significant experience advantage and takes more chances in creating explosive plays, but consistency has escaped him as a Raider. At this point, there isn’t much reason to expect that to change.
“It’s been neck and neck all the way,” Minshew said Saturday. “I had some missed throws and missed reads. We shot ourselves in the foot all night.”
Minshew got the start against the Cowboys after O’Connell started against the Minnesota Vikings last week, but he was uninspiring. Far too many of his throws were either poorly timed or completely off target, which led to several missed opportunities for the offense to extend drives or put up points.
The Raiders offense was without receiver Davante Adams (undisclosed), tight end Brock Bowers (foot), left tackle Kolton Miller (shoulder) and left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson (concussion), but that’s no excuse considering the Cowboys rested their starters. The Raiders had a significant talent advantage, and Minshew still put forth a middling performance.
On the offense’s first possession, receiver Jakobi Meyers got open on a post route, but Minshew was late with the throw, giving a Cowboys defender time to break up the pass. On the next play, Minshew badly missed a wide-open Meyers. Two plays later on fourth-and-3, he telegraphed a throw that was nearly intercepted for a pick six. The Dallas defender dropped it, but it was still a turnover on downs.
That set the tone for what was an erratic showing for Minshew. He bounced back on the next drive to find receiver Tre Tucker for a 48-yard gain, but three plays later, he badly overthrew a wide-open Meyers on third-and-9 and the Raiders had to settle for a field goal.
Sticks showin’ up early 😤 #DALvsLV 📺 FOX5 pic.twitter.com/Xa7OEpKpjD
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 18, 2024
The Raiders’ next possession was derailed by a holding penalty on receiver Kristian Wilkerson, so they kept Minshew in the game to start the second quarter. Tucker got open again on a deep route, but Minshew missed him and the Raiders had to punt. The Raiders were immediately gifted excellent field position on the ensuing play when the Cowboys fumbled the punt at their own 23-yard line.
Once again, though, Minshew failed to capitalize. The Raiders went for it on fourth-and-5, and tight end Harrison Bryant got open, but Minshew missed him badly for another turnover on downs. That would be his final snap of the game.
O’Connell looked a bit better than Minshew despite the interception. Add in his clean game against the Vikings last week and he has put together a stronger two-game sample than Minshew.
Still, it doesn’t look like he has significantly improved from his rookie season. He lacks the athletic traits to extend plays, predetermines too many throws, has average arm talent and has questionable upside considering he turns 26 next month. Still, there’s some room for growth given he’s only in his second year.
Of course, O’Connell being the Week 1 starter doesn’t mean he’d keep the role for the entire season. Pierce has been adamant publicly that the Raiders will roll with whoever they name as the starter, but they aren’t going to stick with a quarterback who’s struggling just for the sake of doing so. It remains probable — if not likely — that Minshew would play at some point this season even if O’Connell begins as the starter.
“Everybody wants to see a player just take it and say, ‘Hey, I’m your guy.’ Well, obviously, that’s probably not the case,” Pierce said. “We’re going to have to make a decision and we’re going to live with it and we’re going to support whoever that quarterback is for the Raiders going forward.”
No matter who Pierce names, it’s unlikely the Raiders have a long-term answer at quarterback on the roster. At best, they have a quarterback who can get them through the season — not one who can elevate the offense. At worst, their quarterback play will hold back the offense, and the results will be disappointing.
In all likelihood, the Raiders will find themselves searching for a quarterback again next offseason. That’s a sobering conclusion, but it feels like the Raiders’ reality.
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(Photo: Chris Unger / Getty Images)
