The Las Vegas Raiders are working through a quarterback competition at training camp between Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew, but so far neither has been able to step up and take control of the battle, which was also the case during the offseason program.
The defense has gotten the better of both, with the unit routinely winning at practice and even notching a pair of interceptions off Minshew and O'Connell over five sessions of camp.
Ahead of the team's first padded practice on Tuesday, Pierce challenged both signal-callers to step up and take the reins for the starting job.
"I’d like to see — again, I’m going to keep saying it — somebody to just take it and say, ‘I’m the guy, AP,'" Pierce said. "Make it clear and evident, and then we'll make that decision at that point."
According to beat writers in attendance on Tuesday, things did improve slightly for the offense and the quarterbacks, but the performances still left a lot to be desired.
Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal noted that Minshew and O'Connell had some "nice moments" during the first padded practice, and Tashan Reed of The Athletic said O'Connell was "a little better today," but he added that "neither player performed well."
That has been the theme this entire offseason, and while Las Vegas' talented defense has played a part in that, neither quarterback is blameless for their struggles.
One thing that is very clear is that we are no closer to knowing who the Raiders' starting quarterback will be after a week-plus of training camp.
