The Las Vegas Raiders officially had the final chapter of their quarterback competition between Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew, with head coach Antonio Pierce announcing that he has seen enough to make a decision after the preseason Week 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night.
Pierce told reporters after the game that the he'll "sleep on it and make a decision in the next couple of days," according to ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. He also noted he would consult offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and general manager Tom Telesco before making the final decision, per The Athletic's Tashan Reed.
As far as their respective performances in the latest preseason game were concerned, neither quarterback lit the world on fire, which has been the case all offseason long. Making their showings more problematic was the fact that the Cowboys didn't even play their starters.
"We'll sleep on it and make a decision in the next couple of days." - #Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, on QB battle between Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew. pic.twitter.com/syPHVBX4Sa
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) August 18, 2024
However, O'Connell did have the better showing overall, completing 14-of-20 passes for 96 yards and one touchdown to one interception. The Purdue product was far and away better before tossing a pick-six, but I don't think that brought him down enough to prevent him from getting the starting job.
Antonio Pierce didn’t sound happy that neither @Raiders QB stepped up to make this an obvious decision. But as he said, a decision has to be made.
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) August 18, 2024
Minshew, on the other hand, struggled with accuracy and put the ball in harm's way on multiple occasions. In fact, he probably should've been picked off at least twice. Minshew finished 10-of-21 for 95 yards and didn't lead a touchdown drive in the game.
Saturday night was a perfect microcosm of how this entire offseason has gone in the battle between the two signal-callers. Just when you think someone is pulling away, they do something to take a step back.
Neither quarterback has done anything to instill confidence that they're going to be set-and-forget options in 2024.
