Insider Offers Clearest Explanation Yet on Raiders Decision to Start Gardner Minshew

Prior to Sunday’s announcement that Gardner Minshew will be the Raiders starting quarterback, you would have been hard-pressed to find anyone covering the team that didn’t believe the decision-makers in the building were leaning towards naming Aidan O’Connell the starter.

Raiders insider Vic Tafur talked about that dynamic in a column at The Athletic this week.

“Many around the team and league expected Pierce to go with Aidan O’Connell over Gardner Minshew II…,” Tafur reported this week at The Athletic. “After all, O’Connell started all nine games when Pierce was the interim coach last season and Pierce gave O’Connell first-team snaps when the offseason program began. The unassuming O’Connell even mustered up some swagger and was much more talkative with teammates on the practice field.”

O’Connell’s pick-six definitely ended his game on a sour note, but Minshew threw an equally egregious pass in the first quarter that would have been a pick-six if it wasn’t dropped by Cowboys’ linebacker Willie Harvey. Tafur also added that O’Connell has thrown fewer interceptions in practices to this point.

“Many may point to O’Connell’s brutal pick-six interception against Dallas Cowboys backups in the preseason game Saturday night, but the Raiders charted passes throughout camp practices and Minshew threw more interceptions, so that wasn’t it,” Tafur said.

But it was another assertion from Tafur that might have ultimately tipped the scales in favor of Minshew.

“While the Raiders won’t say it, they have to be a little concerned with an offensive line that is limping to the starting gate,” he said. “Left tackle Kolton Miller has not practiced yet as he has been rehabbing from offseason shoulder injury (Pierce is hopeful he will be back this week). Left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, the team’s second-round pick, missed all of camp due to a concussion and returned to the field Wednesday, but wearing a non-contact red jersey.”

With so much uncertainty along the offensive line, is it possible the Raiders didn’t want to put O’Connell on the field with the deck potentially stacked against him?

Raiders radio host ‘JT the Brick’ made a similar argument on the quarterback competition well before the decision was announced on Sunday.

“You’ve got these first two games on the road,” JT said on his Raider Nation Radio program last week. “They are really tough [and] we’re going up against two of the better defenses or individual defensive players out there. Maybe Gardner [Minshew] can get out there, step out of the pocket, run away from Khalil Mack and Bosa a little better than Aidan. Let’s give him the shot to play the first two games.”

Combined with Tafur’s report, these takes make as much sense any.

Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see how patient the team is with Minshew. If the season doesn’t get off to a great start, it’s going to be tempting for the coaching staff to go back to O’Connell.

Alternatively, if Minshew plays well, and there are reasons to believe he might, the Raiders have more than enough talent on defense to be one of the better teams in the league this year.