During the recent offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Gardner Minshew to compete for the starting quarterback position. Minshew emerged victorious in the training camp battle against Aidan O’Connell; however, head coach Antonio Pierce decided to bench Minshew in favor of O’Connell this past Wednesday.
On Friday, Pierce delivered a clear message to his new starting quarterback as he prepares to face Pittsburgh on Sunday. “Take care of the football. No turnovers. No turnovers. No turnovers,” Pierce emphasized, according to Paul Gutierrez on X.
Last season, O’Connell took the reins as the starter for 10 games, throwing for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also fumbled four times and faced 24 sacks during that span.
In Weeks 3 and 5, O’Connell stepped in for a struggling Minshew during games against Carolina and Denver, respectively. Against Carolina, he completed nine of his 12 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
In the game against the Broncos, O’Connell managed to complete half of his passes for 94 yards but threw an interception. Both games resulted in losses for the Raiders, who now sit at 2-3 and are last in the AFC West.
The Raiders neglected to resolve their pressing quarterback issues during the offseason, opting to use their first-round pick on a tight end. Rather than upgrading their quarterback situation, the franchise brought in Minshew, who has mostly served as a backup across four different teams.
The coming weeks are critical for O’Connell and the Raiders. Following the matchup against the Steelers, Las Vegas will face the Rams, Chiefs, and Bengals before entering their bye week.
A win against the struggling Steelers, who have lost two consecutive games, would provide a much-needed boost of confidence for the team before facing three highly skilled quarterbacks in the following weeks.