The start of the 2024 NFL regular season is right around the corner for the Las Vegas Raiders. Gardner Minshew and company are set to hit the road this week ahead of taking on the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Week 1 in what will be a good measuring stick for both AFC West teams to start the 2024 campaign.
Although the defense has received a lot of buzz during the NFL offseason and throughout training camp and preseason, with many anticipating a big year from superstar defensive end Maxx Crosby, who could end up in the running for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, the same can’t be said for the offense.
The Raiders may have some talented weapons on offense, like superstar wideout Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, and rookie tight end Brock Bowers, along with other notable names like Michael Mayer and second-year running back Zamir White, who will be looking to prove themselves in 2024, but this team will likely fall short of being a high-powered offense to complement a lockdown defense.
Even head coach Antonio Pierce admits that he doesn’t expect the team to be firing on all cylinders offensively, as he doesn’t anticipate this new-look squad being a “juggernaut” on that side of the football via Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
“We’re probably not going to be, to be honest, a juggernaut offense,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce told me. “Would I love to be? Yeah. To sit here and say we’re going to score 30 points a game, that’s not realistic.”
It may all come down to the quarterback position, with veteran newcomer Minshew barely beating out second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell during the preseason. Minshew may be coming off a Pro Bowl season with the Indianapolis Colts and seems to have a lot of respect around the league, but no one seems to think he’ll move the needle much for the Raiders during this upcoming season.
Even though Minshew hasn’t thrust the Raiders into the title-contending conversation and might struggle to lead this team into the NFL playoffs this year, there’s still hope he can play well enough to make this team competitive.
It remains to be seen how the Raiders will fare as they head into this new era with Minshew and Pierce, but until things start to fall apart, there’s optimism among the players set to wear Silver and Black this season.
Anonymous NFL Coach Isn’t Buying Minshew Mania
At this point in his NFL playing career, Gardner Minshew is what he is: a veteran quarterback who is good enough to win a starting job in the league but might not be what is needed to lead a team into the playoffs while contending for a Super Bowl title.
An anonymous offense coach in the league made it clear that no team in the NFL wants Minshew as their starter but admits the veteran journeyman is a fighter and competitor, which the Las Vegas Raiders might be able to take advantage of in 2024.
