The Las Vegas Raiders officially kicked off training camp on Wednesday with their first practice and all eyes were on the quarterbacks, Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew, both of whom are competing for the starting job.
After alternating reps during the offseason program, that continued on Wednesday. However, it was O'Connell who took the field first with the first-team offense in 11-on-11s, according to Jordan Reever of 8 News Now.
According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Minshew got in on the 11-on-11 action after that, and both he and O'Connell looked "solid" in their respective turns. Bonsignore also noted that there was a lot of short-to-intermediate work done.
Aidan O’Connell starting with the first team offense in the first 11-on-11s here at camp.
— Logan Reever (@loganreever) July 24, 2024
It’s early, but just a note.#Raiders #RaiderNation
A lot of short/intermediate pass game work today for @Raiders in 11 on 11 period, but both Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew looked solid. TE’s played big part of the period.
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) July 24, 2024
While it's certainly fair to note who got first-team reps first, don't put too much stock into it. We saw the two quarterbacks alternate going first during spring practices, also, and that isn't likely to change anytime soon.
On Tuesday, head coach Antonio Pierce touched on the competition but didn't tip his hand in terms of saying who is the favorite to win between O'Connell and Minshew. He did not give a timeline for a decision, either.
"When it's right, when it's obvious," Pierce said. "Like, 'OK, it's like a no-brainer.' No need to rush it, but when it's clear and it's evident, then we need to make that decision and move forward."
"[The process is] where it was when we left spring," he added. "We got some more practices to go at it, to be honest with you. I don't think it's fair to do it -- I mean, the offseason, there's not pads on. I mean, O-line, D-line, the way that's working out in protection, it's better when we get the pads on. I think you get a better feel for it, overall.
"And then also, guys just getting into the system right away in the spring, learning it. So, there can be some days where Aidan [O'Connell] looks better than Gardner [Minshew], then some days Gardner [looks better], then some days they both look bad, some days they both look good, to be honest. So, I think it will take its course while we're here in Southern California."
By the looks of it, we won't know who the Raiders' starting quarterback is for some time. Expect this competition to extend into the preseason, and quite possibly right up until the start of the regular season.
