Gardner Minshew might have a slight edge in the Raiders quarterback competition, but at least one analyst believes it’s Aidan O’Connell who fits the Raiders need at quarterback.
The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen, was asked by Unnecessary Roughness host Q Myers if one of the Raider quarterbacks is the “leader in the clubhouse” to win the job, and Nguyen said he believes O’Connell will be the eventual QB1.
No, it wasn’t a prediction, but Nguyen explained why he believes the coaching staff might be leaning toward O’Connell as their starting quarterback in week one.
“To me, I think O’Connell kind of fits what this team needs, and he also has experience with this staff. I think they trust him, so I think O’Connell is probably going to have a leg up [on Minshew],” Nguyen said on Raider Nation Radio’s Unnecessary Roughness with Q Myers. “If he ends up being ineffective, then I think we’ll see a quick leash and then you can put Gardner out there to give the offense some juice, if necessary.”
For what it’s worth, that makes three insiders/analysts with The Athletic that seem to think O’Connell is in position to win the job. Tashan Reed put O’Connell at the top of the depth chart in his 53-man roster projection on Monday, and Vic Tafur talked about the competition coming down to throwing accuracy – where most would consider O’Connell to be the more accurate of the two quarterbacks.
In the end, it’s going to be a tough decision for the Raider decision makers because O’Connell and Minshew have very different skill sets. Minshew might not have earned the full trust of the coaching staff, but he brings an element of athleticism to the position and can put points on the scoreboard in a hurry – just as he did against the Vikings.
We know head coach Antonio Pierce would like to make a decision on the starting quarterback after this week’s game against the Cowboys, but it will be interesting to see if the process actually plays out that quickly. Pierce created the timeline, and he can change the timeline if he has the urge.
To this point in the process, neither quarterback has significantly outplayed the other and when one seems to take a marginal lead in the competition, it never seems to last more than a day or two.
Pierce has said that he will consider their entire body of work when he decides on the Raiders’ starting quarterback, but there’s no question that this weekend’s game reps will carry more weight than any to this point.
In other quarterback news, the Raiders signed Nathan Peterman on Tuesday and that probably isn’t a great sign for Anthony Brown Jr., who was 1-3 passing for 24 yards against the Vikings on Saturday.
Peterman is entering his seventh NFL season and previously spent two seasons with the Raiders during the second Jon Gruden era.
x: @raidersbeat
Getsy’s offenses have ALWAYS featured mobile qb’s that can play off schedule. If thats AOC then ok ill buy it. Show me the sample of getsy’s offense with a pocket passer. This is people trying to put the square peg in the round hole. It’s mindhew’s 25 million dollar job to lose