The Las Vegas Raiders opted to have Gardner Minshew lead their franchise as the quarterback this season. While Minshew is not a star quarterback by any means, he has proven himself to be serviceable at multiple stops and is known as a well-liked player capable of winning games.
The Raiders also did not have a host of other options. Jimmy Garoppolo left for the Los Angeles Rams, and Aidan O’Connell is the only other signal caller on the roster. Minshew was an obvious, albeit less than exciting choice.
And for some around the league, the choice to start Minshew is a deeply unpopular one. One anonymous coach even went as far as to say that even the Raiders don’t want him to be the starter, according to Jack Murray of Bleacher Report:
“Nobody wants him to be a starter, probably even his own team, but he won games with Indy last year,” an offensive coach said, per Mike Sando of The Athletic. “When you play him, the kid is competitive. He will keep you in the game — and them. It’s going to be a fight.”
While Minshew is certainly not the exciting option, he has still been a very solid quarterback in the NFL since his breakout season at Washington State University. To say that no one, including his own team, would be happy to have him as a starter seems to be a harsh sentiment.
But the Raiders will see what they have in Minshew and determine if they want him to start the entirety of the season or if it’s only a temporary option.
Gardner Minshew reacts to winning starting job
After what seemed to be a competitive battle between veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew and second-year man Aidan O’Connell, head coach Antonio Pierce has made a decision on who will be the starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders heading into the 2024 NFL season.
Although it seemed to be a close competition between these two signal-callers, in the end, Minshew was named the starter. He appears to have proven to Pierce and his coaching staff that he’s the right man for the job under center for the time being. Even though this could quickly change with a few poor performances during the upcoming regular season, Minshew is the Raiders’ guy to lead this team moving forward.
After officially being named the starter earlier this week, Minshew spoke to the media in a press conference in Las Vegas and shared his reaction to the news that he has beaten out O’Connell to be the starter for Las Vegas come Week 1 against the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1 on the road at SoFi Stadium.
