Well, they had to pick someone, right?
On Sunday, the Raiders decided which quarterback will start the season. Gardner Minshew was chosen over Aidan O’Connell.
Fact: It is the right decision.
Fact: It doesn’t matter if Minshew isn’t much better than he has been.
The Raiders can’t win games without better performance than we’ve seen from the team’s quarterbacks. It can’t stay the status quo. If that’s the case, success won’t come.
Minshew didn’t look like he was playing the role at all in a 27-12 loss to Dallas on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium. He completed 10 of 21 passes for 95 yards and scored just three points in five drives. He missed shots. He misread the plays. It just wasn’t good enough.
But it is also true that he has been the better quarterback overall since the start of training camp.
Which doesn’t say much on most days.
Minshew is simply the best option right now. And he’s played enough in the NFL – 37 career starts and a Pro Bowl appearance last season – to know the results need to improve.
Nobody has really landed the job yet. But someone has to play along.
Play to win
“We support (Minshew),” coach Antonio Pierce said. “Our team is behind him. Our staff is behind him and our organization is behind him.”
If the Raiders are playing to win now, choosing Minshew is the best decision. He has a better chance of getting things going and providing new momentum when plays aren’t working.
He’s also a veteran who has won games in the league. Pierce said experience played a role in the final decision. And it should. Until proven otherwise, the Raiders will be led by their defense. Minshew has been around long enough to know that playmaking is crucial on a team like this.
“His personality is infectious, his energy is infectious, his leadership is infectious,” Pierce said. “In terms of improvement, footwork in the pocket, staying on script. There’s something magical about him when he breaks out of the pocket and does his thing. But a lot of times the first and second reads are there, so we have to let it rip. He understands that and more importantly, taking care of the football.”
Pierce talks about doing things in quarters. Like the first quarter of the Raiders’ season, which included two road games and two home games. He believes Minshew can handle the schedule better.
O’Connell would have been a longer-term option. In his rookie season, he went 5-5 in 10 starts. There’s still a good chance he’ll play at some point this year. Just not as a starter.
The selection of Minshew suggests that the Raiders are at least looking to win now and are not putting their priority on the future.
Real professionals
Each quarterback has handled the last few weeks with the utmost professionalism. Each has supported the other at every opportunity and in every interview. Each has said the right things while battling to see who would emerge as the No. 1 pick. There has been a lack of performance on the field, but not off it.
Minshew said after Saturday’s loss to Dallas: “We had a super competitive training camp and were neck and neck the whole time. … We left it up to (Pierce) to make a tough decision. … I’m super optimistic about what we’re going to accomplish as a team this year. I’m just looking forward to this year in general.”
It is the right choice to start with.
But that doesn’t mean much if his game doesn’t improve.
The Raiders need to do more to win games.
Ed Graney, winner of the Sigma Delta Chi Award for sports columns, can be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow @edgraney on X.
