Last we heard, the Raiders were in no hurry to announce who would enter the 2024 NFL season as their starting quarterback. That was two weeks ago, and now, that tune has changed. Head coach Antonio Pierce has stated that the team’s “goal is to announce a starter following the team’s next exhibition game,” per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez.

So, what changed to prompt Pierce to decide that it’s time? “We’ve got to get ready to play football, and I think we’ve got enough film,” Pierce told the media following the team’s first preseason contest. “We’ll have two games here (by that point) to evaluate both quarterbacks to see how they’ll play.”

It’s currently a two-man race between veteran Gardner Minshew and second-year passer Aidan O’Connell. O’Connell started 10 games (including the last nine games of the season) for Las Vegas last year as a fourth-round rookie out of Purdue. Taking over for a benched Jimmy Garoppolo, he went 5-5 in those starts, completing 62.1 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions.

Minshew’s career as a starter has been a rollercoaster. Drafted out of Washington State as a backup for Nick Foles in Jacksonville, Minshew was immediately pushed into action when Foles suffered an injury that would keep him out for most of the season. Minshew became an overnight sensation that season, going 6-6 in 12 starts and throwing 21 touchdowns to only six interceptions. He entered the following season as the starter, but injuries and a 1-7 record pushed him out of the role.

Minshew was traded to the Eagles, where he started four games over the next two years as a backup to Jalen Hurts. His rookie contract expired, Minshew signed with the Colts, hoping to win an open starting job post-Matt Ryan. Indianapolis ended up drafting Anthony Richardson fourth overall in the first round, but Richardson got hurt, eventually missing the final 12 games of the season. Minshew took over as the Colts’ starter, and returned to his usual self, excelling as a surprise starter. In 13 starts, Minshew went 7-6 last year.

O’Connell started the Raiders’ first preseason game, playing one quarter of football. He went seven of nine for 76 yards as he led the team on an 83-yard field goal drive to open the scoring for Las Vegas. Minshew took over in the second quarter, playing four series. He completed six of 12 pass attempts for 117 yards and a touchdown.

The Raiders were viewed as a team that could have drafted a quarterback in the first round back in April, one that could have competed with these two unlikely starting candidates, but they instead opted to select the draft’s top tight end prospect in Georgia’s Brock Bowers. In a recent interview on Scoop City, Raiders general manager Tom Telesco detailed that the team didn’t “pass” on a quarterback, he just believes the draft didn’t shake out in a way that allowed them to take a passer. There were six quarterbacks taken before their selection, and the next passer wasn’t selected until the fifth round. If something fell to them, the Raiders might have had another competitor for this job. As it played out, though, they instead got a new weapon for the competitors they have now.

Those competitors will now have a week to prove their mettle. A week of practices and a preseason game against the Cowboys is all they have now to prove they deserve the starting job. We’ll keep a close eye on any developments in the coming week.

Raiders general manager Tom Telesco made it clear this spring the team would conduct a genuine competition for the starting quarterback job. 2023 fourth-rounder Aidan O’Connell and free agent addition Gardner Minshew split first-team reps in OTAs and minicamp, setting up an interesting situation for the summer.

O’Connell took over from Jimmy Garoppolo midway through last season, and his final weeks of the campaign in particular led to strong endorsements from head coach Antonio Pierce. The 25-year-old received a vote of confidence to enter camp atop the depth chart, but Vegas was among the teams known to be interested in adding a first-round rookie quarterback. In the end, the Raiders did not have the option to trade into a top three slot and add a passer.

Minshew signed a two-year, $25MM contract in March to provide Vegas with either an experienced bridge starter or a veteran capable of stepping in for a rookie. The team viewed him as an insurance policy for any potential draft additions, but with none being made the 28-year-old will have a chance to win the QB1 gig during the summer. He may have ground to make up once training camp opens, though.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler noted during a recent SportsCenter appearance that while the Raiders’ competition is a “real battle,” O’Connell may have the lead at this point. Familiarity with the team is a factor in his potential edge (along with, as Fowler notes, support from wideout Davante Adams) although Vegas has installed a new scheme this offseason under offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Fowler does add that Minshew has grown comfortable in the team’s offense as well, leaving plenty to be decided in the coming weeks.

Fowler predicts both O’Connell and Minshew could wind up seeing playing time in the preseason, something which is generally not the case for starters at many positions (especially quarterback) these days. If training camp practices are not sufficient for a leading candidate to emerge, though, Pierce may be required to use both signal-callers in game action to determine the order of the depth chart.

O’Connell is attached to his rookie contract for three more years at cap hits no larger than $1.27MM. Minshew, meanwhile, has scheduled cap charges of just $5.84MM and $3.16MM over the next two seasons thanks to the void years present in his deal. The Raiders will therefore have a cost-effective QB tandem in 2024, but it remains to be seen who will get the nod for Week 1.

While the Raiders ended up leaving the draft without a quarterback, the team considered rookie signal-callers up until the buzzer. In fact, the team’s previous offseason moves helped set them up for whatever the draft threw their way.

[RELATED: Raiders To Hold QB Competition Between O’Connell, Minshew]

As Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes, the Raiders’ signing of Gardner Minshew was effectively “insurance” in case they couldn’t land one of the draft’s top QB prospects. Considering free agency comes a few months before the draft, the organization added Minshew with the understanding that the veteran could be a seat warmer for a first-round QB or he could be their full-time starter in 2024.

It ended up being the latter. As Bonsignore notes, the Raiders were eager to move up in the draft, but they only had their eyes on the projected top-three picks (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye). The Bears, Commanders, and Patriots were unwilling to budge, and the Raiders front office believed they’d be reaching for the second-tier of QBs at No. 13.

Of course, the Raiders didn’t even have the opportunity to consider a reach, as Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy, and Bo Nix all flew off the board before it was the Raiders’ turn to pick. Penix may have been the wildcard in this grouping. While Bonsignore notes that no one knows how the front office would have proceeded if the Washington product was there at No. 13, the Raiders never considered moving up the board to acquire the QB.

So, with the organization opting against a rookie QB, the team will be temporarily handing the reigns to either Minshew or Aidan O’Connell. Minshew’s two-year contract includes $15MM guaranteed on a deal worth $25MM. That value may be a bit high for a backup, but it certainly wouldn’t be enough to stop the Raiders from considering other options. O’Connell had a chance to start at the end of the 2023 campaign, with the former fourth-rounder posting a passer rating of 83.9 while registering a 12:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

The Raiders were among the teams most frequently linked to a move up the first-round draft order aimed at securing one of the class’ top quarterbacks. Jayden Daniels in particular was a key target, and head coach Antonio Pierce was reportedly more willing than general manager Tom Telesco to put together a trade-up move on Day.

In the end, though, Vegas retained the No. 13 pick. Somewhat surprisingly, that allowed the team to add tight end Brock Bowers, one of the prospects deemed a lock to hear his name called in the top 10. Bowers – who has inked his rookie deal – will no doubt play a notable role during his rookie season, but it remains to be seen who he will be catching passes from in 2024.

The Raiders turned to Aidan O’Connell to close out the 2023 season. As a rookie, the former fourth-rounder posted a passer rating of 83.9 while registering a 12:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He drew praise from Pierce ahead of the draft, with the latter suggesting O’Connell would be in pole position for any summer QB competition. His rival for the QB1 spot, of course, is veteran Gardner Minshew.

After serving as the Colts’ starter for much of the 2023 campaign, Minshew inked a two-year, $25MM deal in free agency. The 27-year-old is far more experienced than O’Connell, and he could provide the Raiders with a higher floor during the transition to a new coaching staff this year. Both passers will have an avenue to the starting gig this summer, though.

“That’s the plan is to have both those guys really compete through the offseason program, but more so in training camp, and we’ll see how it plays out,” Telesco said of O’Connell and Minshew during an appearance on NFL Total Access. “I thought Aidan did an excellent job last year in a really difficult situation where the head coach changed, the coordinator changed, and he played really good football down the stretch.

“And then with Gardner, you know, Gardner played well last year with the Colts. I mean, he was in the Pro Bowl, so obviously had a pretty good year. He’s always performed at a high level when he’s given that opportunity, so to have both those guys here competing for the job, we’ll see how it goes.”

Six signal-callers were drafted in the first round, and at least three of them (Caleb Williams, Daniels and Bo Nix) will likely begin the season atop the depth chart. The other Day 1 selections – Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy – are positioned to take over as QB1 in the relatively near future on their respective teams. That will likely lead to few genuine training camp competitions under center in 2024, but the Raiders will be a team to watch closely on that front.