The Las Vegas Raiders will enter the 2024 campaign with a major question mark at the quarterback position, where the team will see either Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell start following a competition in training camp.
Neither player is guaranteed to elevate this team. Minshew is a serviceable starter, at best, and O'Connell is a total wild card thanks to a small sample size.
If neither one pans out, the Raiders will be in the market for a quarterback in 2025, and The Athletic's Vic Tafur believes Las Vegas pursuing Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Dak Prescott, who is a free agent in 2025, could make sense.
Why not? If the Raiders are a winning team this year that was held back by their quarterback, breaking the bank for Dak Prescott, a very good 31-year-old quarterback, may be the only real ticket available. Because it would be unlikely again that the Raiders would be able to trade up in the draft.
While Raiders fans would prefer to draft a young signal-caller to be the long-term solution, there's a good chance the Raiders land themselves a middling draft pick once again in 2024, which would put them out of range to trade up for one of the premier quarterbacks in next year's class.
Prescott is one of the most polarizing quarterbacks in the NFL and has had his issues in the playoffs. However, he would provide an upgrade over Minshew and O'Connell, making the Raiders more competitive.
Of course, the Raiders would have to pay him handsomely, but there's no scenario in which they'd have to trade for him, also, as Prescott's contract states the Cowboys cannot franchise tag him in 2025.
If the Raiders strike out with both quarterbacks in 2024 and find themselves in a similar position to the one they were in during this year's draft, Las Vegas should absolutely explore adding Prescott in 2025.
