Why Naysayers are Wrong About Raiders' QB Situation

Many believe the Las Vegas Raiders have one of the worst quarterback situations in the NFL.
Las Vegas Raiders Quarterbacks Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew and Coach Rich Scangarello
Las Vegas Raiders Quarterbacks Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew and Coach Rich Scangarello / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated
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Whenever the Las Vegas Raiders came up as a topic in the national media this offseason, the focus always seemed to be on the quarterback position.

In the winter, the conversation was about the Raiders needing to find their next franchise quarterback in the draft. When that didn't happen, the national consensus seemed to be the team was doomed with Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O'Connell being the options for the starting job.

Now, with Minshew having won the battle, the doubters continue to count out the Raiders before they even take the field Week 1, considering the below-par performances from the two quarterbacks in the preseason.

Dallas Robinson of the Pro Football Network recently ranked Las Vegas' quarterback situation the worst in the entire league, even ahead of teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings, who literally just lost their top-10 prospect and likely QB1 in J.J. McCarthy.

"Minshew seemed to win the Raiders’ starting quarterback gig over O’Connell by default," Robinson wrote. "Las Vegas gave Minshew a two-year, $25 million deal with $15 million guaranteed this offseason, giving him a leg up on the 2023 fourth-round rookie from the jump.

"After taking over for the injured Anthony Richardson, Minshew nearly guided the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs last season. He went 7-6 in his starts, tossed 15 touchdowns against nine interceptions, ranked 13th in QBR (59.6), and made the Pro Bowl.

"However, Minshew benefitted from working under Colts head coach/offensive play-caller Shane Steichen, who helped Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts thrive before coming to Indy in 2023. In Vegas, Minshew’s OC is Luke Getsy, who struggled to devise a suitable plan for Fields and the Chicago Bears over the past two seasons.

"O’Connell improved over Jimmy Garoppolo and showed impressive traits, including movement within the pocket and a willingness to push the ball vertically. Still, O’Connell’s long-term ceiling is probably as a QB2, not a starting-level passer."

Wait, for the most part, these all sound like positives. And are valid points. Unlike most other quarterback situations on Robinson's ranking, the Raiders' quarterbacks were each successful starters last season.

Each finished with above .500 records. Neither Russell Wilson nor Justin Fields did that. Then there's Daniel Jones and Drew Lock, the former having gone 1-5 last year and the latter only having made two starts.

What in the world justifies the Raiders' placement in this ranking?

Even if you want to pin the concerns on the preseason, these quarterbacks were fighting for a starting job. Not for wins. There's a big difference.

Minshew will now be solely focused on playing for victories, which he did rather well in his lone season with the Colts, taking down playoff teams like Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- who were a game away from the NFC title game -- as well as the Raiders, who had just pulled off an upset over the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, on their own field.

Raider Nation, your quarterback situation is much better than most are making it out to be.

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