Monday, after lackluster offensive performance by the Raiders and quarterback Gardner Minshew, head coach Antonio Pierce was asked if Minshew could get benched in favor of former starter Aidan O’Connell, who came in a led a TD drive after the game was out of reach.
Pierce’s response to questions was non-committal, adding that he was going to speak with the team before making a decision.
Well, the leader of the team has spoken and made clear who his choice is.
“Gardner’s our guy. We know that,” Crosby said on SiriusXM’s Let’s Go Podcast. “Obviously we love Aidan. Aidan’s a stud. He helped us win a lot of games last year. But Gardner’s our guy. At the end of the day, I just wanna win. Gardner’s our quarterback, he’s our captain, and he has done a hell of a job so far. I mean, it wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t good enough, but it’s across the board. It’s not just Gardner, it’s not just the o-line, or receiver, whoever it is, it’s a collective group effort.”
It was Crosby who gave Minshew a pep talk in the second half of their come-from-behind win over the Ravens. He told Minshew to get back to playing like he did at Washington State and Minshew went out and did it.
There was none of that magic conjured up in the loss to the Panthers. Outside of one deep ball to Tre Tucker in the first half, the offense did basically nothing. And Minshew threw an interception as well.
It makes sense, however, to not give up on Minshew after such a performance. When Pierce named him the starter, he did so with the plan to give him at least the first quarter of the season. That means through at least next week and perhaps more before he considers pulling the rip cord and bringing in Aidan O’Connell.
O’Connell was the starter last season, but expecting him to be some kind of savior may be asking too much. There are bigger changes that need to occur to get this offense moving. It starts with why the run game is so utterly terrible. That should receive the most immediate urgent attention. Without it, who the quarterback is won’t matter much.