Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell competition: Raiders make decision on starting QB vs. Steelers

Ahead of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Las Vegas Raiders are making a change. Aidan O’Connell will be the starting QB as Gardner Minshew moves into the backup role, head coach Antonio Pierce said Wednesday.

Minshew arrived in Las Vegas in free agency this year after spending last season with the Indianapolis Colts. He took over as the starter after Anthony Richardson’s season-ending injury and went on to make the Pro Bowl as he threw for 3,305 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Now, it’ll be O’Connell, who got the bulk of the starts last year alongside Jimmy Garoppolo. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport detailed the decision to turn to O’Connell against Pittsburgh and how the Raiders’ original plan might not have worked out the way they wanted.

“Changing things on offense, trying to find a spark makes a lot of sense,” Rapoport said on The Insiders. “The reality is Antonio Pierce is probably not the Raiders’ head coach right now had Aidan O’Connell not come on late in the season and played really well. There’s really not much debate there. Now, Gardner Minshew wins the job out of training camp. I think the argument is they were very, very similar, so go with someone who is veteran, who has been there and can hopefully lead you to some early wins. Maybe start fast, and then, if you need to go to the younger player later, you can do that. It didn’t quite work out that way. The Raiders do have some wins, but they haven’t exactly started fast and now, it is back to O’Connell.

“The upside is obviously a little more. You know what Gardner Minshew is, you’ve seen Gardner Minshew. We don’t know what Aidan O’Connell can become. He gets the ball out of his hands quick, he makes smart decisions. We’ve seen him play really good football. Could he become more than someone who competes annually for a starting job? It is very possible. The Raiders very, very much hope so. We’re gonna get our first chance to see it this weekend for Las Vegas.”

O’Connell appeared in 11 games last season, making 10 starts. He totaled 2,218 passing yards and 12 touchdowns as a rookie out of Purdue, which added intrigue to the competition with Minshew after he signed.

Now, it’ll be O’Connell’s show once again when the Raiders and Steelers square off Sunday. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m. ET.