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Gardner Minshew started 20 games for the Jaguars, four for the Eagles and 13 for the Colts. He’s on the move again, competing with Aidan O’Connell for the starting quarterback job with the Raiders.
The quarterbacks are splitting snaps with the starting offense, a rotation that is expected to continue into training camp and the preseason.
“It’s been great,” Minshew said Tuesday, via Tashan Reed of TheAthletic.com. “We’ve both put together a good camp so far. We’ve been pushing each other but also just enjoying each other and our room. . . . We’re having a ton of fun right now and being very competitive. I think that’s only going to make our team better.”
Minshew has the edge in experience, with 29 more starts, four more seasons and one more Pro Bowl appearance than O’Connell, who theoretically has more upside. Both are learning offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense.
The Raiders signed Minshew to a two-year, $25 million deal despite repeatedly expressing faith in O’Connell, a fourth-round pick in 2023. But the team is having a true quarterback competition, with neither the frontrunner.
Only once in his career has Minshew been the Week 1 starter. He hopes to make it two this season, but at the same time, he’s working to help make O’Connell better.
“As any real competitor, you don’t want them to be worse. You want yourself to be better,” Minshew said. “So, the better he is, if I’m beating him out, that means I’m just raising it that much more. That’s how I’ve always viewed it: If he’s pushing me, and he’s completing every pass, I’ve got to figure out a way to do better. That’s the only way to really improve.”
Minshew is a former sixth-round pick who will now suit up for his fourth team in six years. He started most of last season with the Colts, replacing 2023 fourth overall pick Anthony Richardson, who went down with a season-ending injury in Week 5.
Minshew had a solid season for Indy, completing 62% of his passes, throwing for over 3,300 yards, and leading a young Colts team to a 9-8 record and one game short of the playoffs.
As for O’Connell, the Purdue product was drafted in the fourth round and was the eighth quarterback taken in the 2023 draft.
O’Connell started 33 games over four years at Purdue. He threw for over 9,000 yards and 65 touchdowns throughout his collegiate career, including his 534-yard passing performance in the 2021 Music City Bowl, which was the second most yards ever thrown in a bowl game by a Big Ten QB.
After being unexpectedly thrown into the starting QB position as a rookie, the 25-year-old found success as a starter. He finished with a 5-5 record, including a huge Christmas Day win over the defending champion Chiefs and a 63-21 win over the Chargers in Week 15.
Statistically, O’Connell had the second-best season of any rookie QB, completing 62% of his passes and finishing the season with an 83.9 QB rating, even though head coach Josh McDaniels was fired after a 3-5 start.
O’Connell won three of his last four starts with an 8:0 touchdown to interception ratio.
Raiders coach Antonio Pierce has shown excitement throughout the offseason regarding O’Connell’s rookie campaign and his potential future in the NFL.
“He did a hell of a job for us. You’re talking about a kid that has the mental toughness to play in the National Football League.”
At DraftKings Sportsbook, the Raiders Over/Under win total sits at 6.5, with 12-1 odds to win the AFC West, 60-1 odds to win the AFC, and 100-1 odds to win the Super Bowl.