The Las Vegas Raiders made a quarterback change during their loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday and they are sticking with it going forward.
Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce announced on Wednesday that Aidan O’Connell will start for the team in Week 6 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The decision did not come as a shock after Gardner Minshew was benched in Denver. The Raiders offense has not looked good through five games with Minshew under center. Though the veteran has completed more than 70% of his passes, he has thrown for just 1,000 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions. Minshew threw two picks in Sunday’s 34-18 loss, which led to Pierce giving O’Connell a shot.
Minshew had earlier been benched in the Raiders’ embarrassing Week 3 loss to the Carolina Panthers, though he kept his starting job after that. Pierce openly discussed the possibility of making a quarterback change at the time.
For his part, O’Connell went 10-of-20 for 94 yards and an interception after taking over for Minshew against Denver. The second-year quarterback started 11 games as a rookie last season after Las Vegas moved on from Jimmy Garoppolo. O’Connell finished with 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions for the 2023-24 campaign.
While O’Connell showed some promise last season, it seems unlikely that he will be a significant upgrade over Minshew. Not having Davante Adams — who has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury — has made things worse for Las Vegas. The star wide receiver’s days in Las Vegas could be numbered.