Throughout the offseason program and over the first three days of training camp, the Las Vegas Raiders' quarterbacks have struggled, which has led to some fans hitting the panic button on both already.
That's not to say Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell haven't shown positives, because they have. However, the defense has gotten the better of them more often than not.
And that continued on Friday, when the defense won the day again on the strength of two interceptions thrown by O'Connell. The day before that, Minshew threw two picks of his own.
After practice on Friday, The Athletic's Tashan Reed gave some insight into the issues both have had, saying the secondary playing at a high level has a lot to do with it.
It must be pointed out that a large part of the struggles of O’Connell and Minshew has been the excellent play of the #Raiders' secondary. They look really, really good.
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) July 26, 2024
That said, Reed makes it clear that the signal-callers are not without fault and rightly noted that they have to be able to thrive against talented defenses like the Raiders'.
I mean, the QBs have also just been independently underwhelming. You have to be able to find success even against a tough defense to be consistent in this league. https://t.co/Rugi5DL6Zz
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) July 26, 2024
While not ideal in terms of the performances of the quarterbacks, it is at least good to know that the Raiders' secondary, which is seeing a competition for the No. 2 cornerback job across from Jack Jones, is playing well.
If the unit can bring this level of play into the regular season and combine with a defensive front that can be among the league's best, the Raiders are going to have an elite defense in 2024.
Through three training camp practices, there is no clear leader in the clubhouse for the starting quarterback job, which means this competition is going to drag on for quite awhile.
