The Las Vegas Raiders are still in the early stages of the offseason so the quarterback competition between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell hasn’t fully taken shape yet. Head coach Antonio Pierce has said that O’Connell will take the first reps in practice but Minshew will definitely get his fair share of looks.
Though the two quarterbacks will be battling for the starting job this offseason, O’Connell is a big fan of Minshew and made it clear that there’s no tension between them despite the situation.
“There’s competition every day in everything we do, but it’s also like at the end of the day, there’s a mutual respect,” O’Connell said of Minshew on the May 21 episode of “The Rush With Maxx Crosby.” “I mean, my story’s crazy, his story’s crazy too, you know from what he came from and his experience and what he’s been able to carve out in the NFL for himself and the career he’s had. So really there’s nothing but respect both ways for guys that have done it the hard way and to be able to see him do that. I was a big fan of him long before I met him because I heard his story, the crazy stories about him and stuff, so it’s been good to get to know him.”
Minshew and O’Connell are playing nice for now but it’ll be interesting to see how the competition unfolds.
Luke Getsy Talks QB Competition
The Raiders have several new coaches on the offensive staff, including offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. He has no allegiance to any quarterback on the roster and will have a big say on who will ultimately start.
For now, it’s far too early in the process for him to have an evaluation of the position.
I think [it’s] the evaluation of the performance on a whole,” Getsy said during his May 21 press conference. “There’s a lot of parts to it. I think it’s the way that the operation [functions], making sure we’re taking care of the football, and then the production part of it. I think this is a long process. We’re at the beginning stages of it. Everyone’s trying to get a grasp of what we’re trying to accomplish — not just the Qs, but everybody.
“The good thing is we’ve got a good group in that room. Those guys work their butt off and they’re competitive, but they’re great teammates too at the same time. So the beginning part of this thing has been a lot of fun.”
Who Has the Edge for the Starting Job?
The Raiders likely won’t start to get a better idea of who has the edge until training camp starts but they could be favoring one option. It’s hard to see how the team will bench Minshew. He has more experience than O’Connell and the team paid him $25 million over two seasons this offseason.
The team will O’Connell a fair chance at winning the job but if it’s close, Minshew will likely get the nod just considering his contract. O’Connell needs to look clearly better than Minshew to have a realistic chance at starting this season.
