Five games into the 2024 season and the Raiders are back where they were going into training camp — with a competition at quarterback. In lieu of naming a starter heading into the week of practices, the Raiders will hold an open competition between O’Connell and Minshew according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic.
Midway through the third quarter of Sunday’s game in Denver, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce pulled Gardner Minshew and replaced him with Aidan O’Connell.
Minshew started the game out well, leading the Raiders to two scores, but two interceptions — one of which was a pick six — led to Pierce pulling the plug and putting in O’Connell.
The second-year former starter didn’t do much upon entering the game that would suggest he was the better option. He too threw an interception and only scored after the game was well out of reach and the Broncos defense was just playing out the clock.
Minshew hasn’t done much to cement himself as the starter, though the offense as a whole has struggled in many areas, namely with the zone blocking scheme and the running game has struggled as a result.
Up until recently, some of the issues were seen as a result of the team not picking a starter earlier, therefore causing a delay in team chemistry. This renewed competition would only figure to take the team back to square one in that department, but for a team desperately seeking answers, they don’t have a lot to lose.
The Raiders face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Las Vegas this Sunday.