The biggest storyline of the Las Vegas Raiders‘ offseason has been and will continue to be the quarterback competition, which is between veteran Gardner Minshew and 2023 fourth-round pick, Aidan O’Connell.
Based on spring practice reports from beat writers on the ground, neither signal-caller really established themselves as the favorite for the job ahead of training camp, as the pair struggled most days. Having to learn a new offense and facing off against a very good defense likely contributed to that.
But, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, O’Connell “probably has the slight edge,” and he has a big fan in wide receiver Davante Adams, which can only help his chances of securing the starting job.
“O’Connell and Minshew in the spring went tit for tat; went after it. O’Connell probably has the slight edge right now based on coming into Year 2, being more vocal,” Fowler said. “I’m told he’s acting like a starting quarterback and Davante Adams loves him, which always helps certainly with the brownie points.”
Fowler also had this to say about Minshew:
“But Minshew has come in, shown some moxie. He’s already got the offense, he’s changing plays at the line of scrimmage, I’m told,” Fowler said. “He’s been good at the off-script stuff.”
Many have pegged Minshew as the favorite thanks to his free-agent deal and overall advantage in experience. But O’Connell is a total wild card, as we simply don’t know how big of a leap he’ll take in Year 2 after a strong finish to his rookie campaign.
Fowler went on to say that both quarterbacks could each get a preseason start, which would not be surprising considering how close things are. Look for this competition to run through training camp and right up until the start of the season.