Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said Sunday that he plans to name a starting quarterback between O'Connell and Gardner Minshew after Saturday's preseason game versus Dallas, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports. Pierce also said that O'Connell and Minshew are both slated to play at least one quarter during this exhibition with the Cowboys, which is in line with the playing time that they got during Saturday's 24-23 loss to Minnesota. O'Connell did ultimately start versus the Vikings, but he's been splitting first-team practice reps throughout training camp and appears to be on even footing with Minshew following this preseason opener. O'Connell was solid during his 11 regular-season appearances as a rookie last year, and he completed seven of nine passing attempts for 76 yards during his lone offensive series against Minnesota. He'll also have a chance to separate himself during a week of practices before getting to Saturday's game against Dallas.
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Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said Sunday that he plans to name a starting quarterback between O'Connell and Gardner Minshew after Saturday's preseason game versus Dallas, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports. Pierce also said that O'Connell and Minshew are both slated to play at least one quarter during this exhibition with the Cowboys, which is in line with the playing time that they got during Saturday's 24-23 loss to Minnesota. O'Connell did ultimately start versus the Vikings, but he's been splitting first-team practice reps throughout training camp and appears to be on even footing with Minshew following this preseason opener. O'Connell was solid during his 11 regular-season appearances as a rookie last year, and he completed seven of nine passing attempts for 76 yards during his lone offensive series against Minnesota. He'll also have a chance to separate himself during a week of practices before getting to Saturday's game against Dallas.
O'Connell completed seven of nine passes for 76 yards in Saturday's 24-23 preseason loss to the Vikings. The second-year QB was expected to see about a quarter of action in the Raiders' preseason opener, but O'Connell wound up being under center for only a single possession as he led Las Vegas on a nearly eight-minute drive that ended in a first-quarter field goal. Gardner Minshew then took over to begin the second quarter and engineered three quick scoring drives before halftime, including two touchdowns. While O'Connell getting the start might suggest he's ahead in the battle to be the Week 1 starter, Minshew had a lot more success putting points on the board. The competition will likely continue into next Saturday's clash with the Cowboys.
Coach Antonio Pierce noted Monday that he expects both O'Connell and Gardner Minshew to play "a legit quarter" in Saturday's preseason opener against the Vikings, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports. In terms of Saturday's contest, Pierce wouldn't announce a starter, suggesting that each QB would get a similar level of opportunity to make their case for depth chart slotting. "Who goes out first and who goes out second really doesn't matter. (They will) get hopefully an equal amount of snaps and opportunity to showcase," according to Pierce, who also indicated Monday via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com, that he doesn't "think we can sit there and say somebody's won yet."
O'Connell and Gardner Minshew have been trading off first-team reps in training camp, Levi Edwards of the Raiders' official site and Tashan Reed of The Athletic report. The fact that the two QBs have essentially been alternating first-team snaps on a practice-by-practice basis as the coaching staff gives both players a long look, though the starting experience O'Connell gained under Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce last season may give him a slight edge out of the gate. That said, if neither signal-caller pulls away during training camp and the preseason, it could be a while until a decision on the team's Week 1 starter is publicly revealed.
Coach Antonio Pierce said O'Connell will take the first snap over Gardner Minshew in the Raiders' upcoming quarterback competition, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN reports. Pierce praised O'Connell's work so far this offseason, mentioning how he's "changing his body, his work ethic, being here every day, blocking out the outside noise." He did also talk up Minshew and make it clear that Las Vegas considers the starting role up for grabs, saying a quarterback competition is good for motivation across the roster. O'Connell led the Raiders to a 5-5 record as a rookie last season, and this offseason, he'll work to take a step forward and build increased chemistry with Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and rookie tight end Brock Bowers.
O'Connell remains in position to compete with Gardner Minshew for the starting job this offseason, after the Raiders refrained from selecting a rookie quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft, Mark Anderson of the Associated Press reports. Las Vegas was an oft-theorized candidate to add a QB in April's draft, but six signal-callers ultimately went off the board before the team's first-round selection at No. 13 overall, which became playmaking tight end Brock Bowers. The team invested second- and third-round selections in offensive linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and Delmar Glaze, putting whoever wins the 2024 starting gig in a better position for success. O'Connell completed 213 of 343 pass attempts for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions across 10 starts last season, which is solid rookie numbers for a fourth-round pick, but Minshew boasts enough experience that this offseason should play out as a true competition.
O'Connell (finger) looks set to compete with Gardner Minshew, whom the Raiders plan to ink to a two-year, $25 million deal, for the starting quarterback job, Tashan Reed, Larry Holder and Jeff Howe of The Athletic report. O'Connell put together a solid rookie campaign for a fourth-round pick across 11 regular-season appearances (10 starts), completing 213 of 343 pass attempts for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Minshew is an established veteran and represents real competition for O'Connell, having thrown for 3,305 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and nine INTs across 13 starts with Indianapolis last season, but the 2023 draft pick out of Purdue could get a real chance to compete this offseason. Of course, things could get murkier if Las Vegas bolsters the QB position in April's draft, and this is an offense that will need to transform after losing Josh Jacobs to Green Bay in free agency.