Is it time for the Raiders to bench Gardner Minshew?

The 2024 NFL season has already been a rollercoaster for the Las Vegas Raiders. The team has alternated wins and losses every week but the wins are lackluster and the losses are embarrassing.

It probably wasn't fair to blame Gardner Minshew for the first two losses but he has no excuses for how he performed in Week 5 against the Denver Broncos. He started off the game looking like prime Brett Favre.

He threw a deep touchdown to Brock Browers, led the team on a field goal drive and then drove all the way to the one-yard line and had Bowers open for an easy second touchdown pass. Instead, he overthrew the tight end and Patrick Surtain intercepted the ball and returned it for a touchdown.

Instead of a 17-3 lead, the Raiders were tied 10-10. The team never recovered from the momentum swing. Had Minshew completed the touchdown pass, we'd be having a completely different conversation. Minshew did not recover from that throw and was atrocious the rest of the game. He frequently missed open receivers and threw another interception in the second half, which led to him being benched in favor of Aidan O'Connell.

While Minshew was taken out for O'Connell in the blowout loss to the Panthers, this was the first time he was truly benched as the Raiders were only down 10 at the time. It remains to be seen if this will be a permanent move as head coach Antonio Pierce didn't reveal a decision at quarterback quite yet.

At this point, it's clear the Raiders aren't good enough at quarterback to compete in the AFC. The defense has shown it can be decent but it's not good enough to overcome a terrible offense. The Raiders have nothing to lose by putting O'Connell out there and seeing what he can do.

It would make more sense to give the younger quarterback a chance to spark the offense. Will it lead to more wins? Probably not, but at least the Raiders can get a better idea of O'Connell. The next 12 months are all about getting and developing a young franchise quarterback. If that doesn't happen, the Raiders will be bad once again next season.