There is a long way to go
There was a recent report by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that stated that incumbent Aidan O’Connell left the OTA and minicamp sessions holding a ‘slight edge’ over free-agent signing Gardner Minshew in the Las Vegas Raiders’ starting-quarterback battle.
To recap, this was part of Fowler’s reporting on the subject:
“O’Connell and Minshew in the spring went tit for tat; went after it. O’Connell probably has the slight edge right now based on coming into Year 2, being more vocal. I’m told he’s acting like a starting quarterback and Davante Adams loves him, which always helps certainly with the brownie points.”
“But Minshew has come in, shown some moxie. He’s already got the offense, he’s changing plays at the line of scrimmage, I’m told,” Fowler said. “He’s been good at the off-script stuff.”
What does it all mean?
I’ll start with what I always conclude about this battle — it’s far from over. This decision will likely be made after training camp and after the preseason. After all, there is no rush.
I wouldn’t read too much into the fact that O’Connell, who started 10 games for the Raiders as a rookie last season, has a slight lead in the race as we sit 75 days before the Raiders’ begin the regular season at the Los Angeles Chargers on September 8.
Raiders’ coach Antonio Pierce said at the beginning of OTA’s that O’Connell earned the right to take the first snaps of those sessions based on him being the incumbent. Fowler’s report reads as an extension of that.
The Raiders want to see one of these guys take over and no one has yet. Pierce has said often that he has seen growth by O’Connell and he is more vocal than he was as a rookie. And, we all know Minshew has moxie. The dude is 6-foot-1-inches, 225 pounds of pure moxie. That’s him.
It was interesting that Fowler noted that Raiders’ star wide receiver Davante Adams is a big fan of O’Connell. Will that make a big difference in this decision? Usually, players don’t have say in personnel decisions but Adams is the focal point of the offense and he has Pierce’s ear, so it likely won’t hurt ACO’s case.
But if Minshew outplays him this summer, Adams will surely be on board with the veteran winning the job.
So, while Fowler’s report was interesting, I wouldn’t say it means all that much at this point. Most of the battle has yet to be played out in this competition.