The Las Vegas Raiders made an interesting move at the quarterback position on the first day of free agency. Some thought the Raiders would be interested in trading the Chicago Bears for Justin Fields. The Raiders bypassed Fields and signed Gardner Minshew to a two year deal worth 25 million dollars. Minshew has been one of the best back-up quarterbacks in the NFL the last few years. Minshew made his first Pro-Bowl with the Colts last year and his new deal means he will get 15 million guaranteed. The Raiders liked what they saw in their rookie quarterback, Aidan O’Connell, last year who had ten starts. The Raiders are expected to have an open competition for the starting job with Minshew and O’Connell.

Gardner Minshew was originally drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 6th round in the 2019 NFL draft. In 2019 his rookie season, Minshew made 12 starts and went 6-6 behind center. In Minshew’s second season, he made 8 starts and went 1-7 behind center. After two seasons in Jacksonville, he was traded to Philadelphia where he spent two seasons as he backed Jalen Hurts. He managed to get 4 starts winning one of them. Last year he signed with the Colts to be the back-up quarterback for rookie Anthony Richardson. Richardson got hurt, so Minshew took over & started 13 games behind center and went 7-6 his first ever winning season in the NFL. He almost had the Colts back to post-season but a dropped ball or perhaps Minshew threw a bad pass on a potential game winning drive which cost Indianapolis a chance to win the division. Minshew completed 62.2% of his passes for 3,305 yards while throwing 15 touchdown passes to only 9 interceptions. In 5 seasons, he is 15-22 as a starter in the NFL. His completion percentage is 62.6% and he has tallied up 9,937 passing yards while throwing 59 touchdown passes to only 24 interceptions.

The Raiders drafted Aidan O’Connell in the 4th round of the NFL draft last season as he was 135th overall out of Purdue University. Originally Jimmy Garoppolo was the starting quarterback for the Raiders under head coach Josh McDaniels last season. It was a disaster. McDaniels was fired and the interim head coach Antonio Pierce, who now has the permanent gig in Vegas. He benched Jimmy G in favor of the rookie O’Connell. Aidan had ten starts for the Raiders last year and went 5-5 behind center. His completion percentage was 62.1% as he tallied 2,218 passing yards while throwing 12 touchdown passes to only 7 interceptions. O’Connell’s numbers are similar to Gardner Minshew’s last year. O’Connell is 25 years old with one season in the NFL while Minshew is 27 and has 5 years of experience at the pro level.

So far this off-season, the Raiders have been loading up on the defensive side of the ball in the free agent market. Which makes sense to stop Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert who are two elite quarterbacks in the division. The Raiders have two 1st round picks in the draft and could use one of them on a quarterback of the future. I like that the Raiders are having an open competition with Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew. Both quarterbacks will push each other to get better. If O’Connell wins the competition, the Raiders have a hell of a back-up in place. Then if they draft a rookie, he can stand on the sidelines, soak it all in, and learn the NFL game instead of being thrown to the wolves like most rookie quarterbacks. Many of them never rebound. If O’Connell struggles, then Minshew can take the team on his shoulders. If I was a Raiders fan, I would be rooting for Minshew to take the starting job as you know he’s coming in wanting to be a full time starter in this league. I like Minshew as a leader. Minshew has the stronger arm to throw the ball down field. With a solid defense, Minshew can just let it rip down field. The Raiders have some nice weapons in place and could add to the arsenal through free agency or the draft. The way things run under Antonio Pierce, this Raiders team is a sleeper to be reckoned with for this upcoming season. Minshew just sounds like a Raider name. He looks the part. The quarterback room has improved in Vegas from O’Connell getting a taste last year and now with Minshew on board, they did not have to give up any draft capital for Fields. They did not have to pay the ridiculous Kirk Cousins money like the Falcons did. The team can also find the gem of the draft at the quarterback position. It’s not always that easy as Caleb Williams may be the top choice right now. Will he be the best out of all the QB’s in the draft when the season starts? The Chiefs took Mahomes after Mitch Trubisky and Deshaun Watson in 2017. Mahomes played one game his first season. Now he has two Superbowl rings. Trubisky is now a career back-up. Watson would probably rape your mother. The Raiders may finally just win baby like old times for the silver and black.