The Raiders' decision is in, and the starting quarterback for Week 6 will be: nobody!
Any time you can announce a decision detailing how you haven't made a decision yet, you should. They don't know who's going to start in five (5) days, and that's because the Raiders decided that they're going dip their toes back into the QB competition to see if anything works better this time around. It's a tried-and-true method that typically works really well in the NFL, so I totally understand why they're doing it.
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The news about nothing comes from The Athletic, who reported on Tuesday that Antonio Pierce will have Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell compete this week during practice, and whoever looks better will get the first chance to be benched mid-game against the Steelers this Sunday. Minshew Mainia really is as fun as advertised!
Raiders decide that they wanted Minshew & O'Connell to compete again for QB1 job
"The Las Vegas Raiders will have quarterbacks Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O’Connell compete for the starting job this week in practice, league sources said Tuesday ... While O’Connell was slightly more accurate than Minshew in training camp and the preseason, it was Minshew’s mobility and experience that won him the job. Despite that, he has been hit a lot so far this season (15 sacks in five games) behind a disappointing offensive line, so there is concern about how the less-mobile O’Connell would fare under duress."
You just love to see reporting about how O'Connell was the better QB in camp, but Minshew got the job because he's been in the league longer. And that is true – in six years, Minshew's been on four different teams. O'Connell's only been on one team! In two years! The Raiders had no choice but to roll the dice on Minshew's experience going 7-13 with the Jaguars, and then 10-12 with three other teams. There's real value in being a subpar quarterback and the Raiders know that.
So that's a wrap on the season, right? When you're running back the starting QB competition one (1) month after it originally ended, that feels like a wrap on this season. Maybe O'Connell captures a bit of a spark for a few games – or maybe Minshew taps into that Washington State Minshew for a pointless late-season win – but it's hard to feel like it matters at this point. Turns out iron doesn't always sharpen iron.