Quarterbacks Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew II Are Competitors and Teammates

The Las Vegas Raiders are still deciding who they will start at quarterback this season. However, while quarterbacks Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew II compete, they remain teammates who want what is best for the team.

Las Vegas Raiders Quarterbacks Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew and Coach Rich Scangarello / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

While the Las Vegas Raiders continue to decide on a starting quarterback, the competition between quarterback Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew II remains the most critical piece of the offseason.

Both quarterbacks have qualities and skill sets that make them legitimate options as the team’s starter. O’Connell has a familiarity with the team that Minshew does not have, and Minshew has valuable experience in the National Football League that O’Connell does not have. 

O’Connell and Minshew are in a position few other quarterbacks are in, as most other teams already have their starting quarterback figured out. Who the Raiders pick for the starting position will arguably be the team's most significant decision regarding the upcoming season.

Still, O’Connell said he is focused on being the best leader possible.

“It's a unique position,” O’Connell said at training camp this week. “You have good plays. You have bad plays. I’m not rooting that Gardner would have bad plays because if he has good plays, normally, the offense is having good plays. That is a part of my role and part of being a teammate in a team sport. [I’m] just trying to do my best to support the guys, encourage the guys, and just lead them the best that I can.”

O’Connell acknowledged that it is human nature for two people competing against each other to keep tabs on each other's performance. However, he clarified that he and Minshew are teammates first and competitors second. The Raiders' offense had a challenging but productive training camp, as practicing against one of the best defenses in the league helped the offense grow over the last couple of weeks. O'Connell says that despite the competition, he and Minshew desire the best outcome for the offense and the team.

“We’re in the same meetings together,” O’Connell said. “We’re both lifting together, doing a lot of the same stuff together. We’re going against the same defense. So, we’re looking for certain looks on each play. You can’t help but, even if you’re not in, when we execute a certain play against certain coverage that we’d be hoping for, just to be happy that it went on schedule and went how we hoped it would. It's back and forth. It’s obviously a unique role and a unique business.”

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