The Las Vegas Raiders’ most interesting training camp battle will be between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell as they compete for the starting quarterback job.
Head coach Antonio Pierce appears to be keeping an open mind as to who he’ll roll with once the 2024 season begins, and Minshew and O’Connell have been enjoying the chance to compete against one another. However, both players are also focused on doing what they need to help the team win which bodes well for the locker room ahead of a highly-anticipated season.
While Minshew and O’Connell have both overcome plenty of adversity to make it to the NFL, there are some around the league who are lower on Las Vegas because of their quarterback situation. There is an adage that if a team has two starting quarterbacks then they have none, and this could be the case for the Raiders.
With that in mind, NFL insiders like Albert Breer believe that the franchise’s future quarterback isn’t on the roster via Sports Illustrated:
“I also believe that the roster is a ways off, and the long-term quarterback for Pierce and first-year GM Tom Telesco isn’t on the roster, so there’s a pretty logical scenario out there where they become sellers at the deadline. They would, at the very least, get calls on Crosby. Which doesn’t mean they would trade him—he’s still just 26, so it’d be different than dealing Adams or even Miller—but they would get to see his value to other teams.”
It’s hardly a stretch to say the Raiders’ long-term answer at the position isn’t currently on the team especially considering all the reporting that the team was trying to move up in the 2024 NFL Draft for a signal caller. Jayden Daniels was the reported dream target though he ultimately went No. 2 to the Washington Commanders.
As Breer also notes, there’s a reality that the quarterback position doesn’t matter this season, and general manager Tom Telesco pivots to a rebuild. Quarterback is the most important position in sports, and the silver and black understand they need one of the best to compete for a Super Bowl.
Raiders’ Maxx Crosby believes Aidan O’Connell has come a long way
O’Connell might end up being the backup again after the Raiders committed to Minshew on a two-year deal in free agency, but he has apparently been turning heads in the offseason. Maxx Crosby’s taken notice of O’Connell and believes he’s come a long way already.
