Las Vegas Raiders quarterback competition finally sees some separation

Dharya Sharma

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback competition finally sees some separation image

The Las Vegas Raiders wrapped up their fourth padded practice of camp and the eighth practice overall on Saturday evening, meaning we got another look at the quarterback competition between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell.

The Raiders are set to play their first preseason game this Saturday, August 10th, against the Minnesota Vikings and could enter the contest with a leader in their competition at quarterback.

Saturday's practice was a tale of two tapes for both signal-callers. Minshew had his best practice of camp, while O'Connell struggled to dissect Las Vegas' secondary all night.

According to Vic Tafur of the Athletic, Minshew tossed two touchdowns with one interception during Saturday's practice, while O'Connell failed to find the end zone and threw two interceptions. 

Minshew's near-perfect day at practice was a refreshing sight to witness. According to Levi Edwards of Raiders.com, the 28-year-old switched off with the first and second-team offense and orchestrated multiple drives to the one-yard line with connections to Zamir White and Brock Bowers. 

The veteran also ripped off a long run to set the offense up in scoring position and evaded Maxx Crosby in the process. Minshew's touchdown passes went to Harrison Bryant and DJ Turner.

Though the former Colt had a fantastic practice, he did toss an interception to Jack Jones on a high pass intended for Tre Tucker. 

O'Connell arguably had his worst practice of training camp thus far. The 25-year-old had some good moments but continues to struggle with turnovers, tossing two interceptions, one to Isaiah Pola-Mao and another to M.J. Devonshire.  

The fallout from Saturday's practice is pivotal in the Raiders' quarterback competition.

According to Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur of the Athletic, Las Vegas is "definitely closer to a quarterback decision, as there finally was some separation" between Minshew and O'Connell, with the pendulum swinging in the former's direction.

Given O'Connell's lackluster performance on Saturday and Minshew's excellence with the first and second teams, it's safe to assume that Minshew is currently in the lead to be Las Vegas' starting quarterback.

Dharya Sharma

Dharya Sharma Photo

A football fan who started his own website to talk about the Tennessee Titans, Dharya Sharma is an up-and-coming sports writer from Nebraska and has amassed over 1,300 followers on his Twitter talking Titans. Along with his duties on Sporting News, Dharya is the social media administrator for Locker Daily Fantasy Sports.