Raiders HC names leader in Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew competition

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce spoke with reporters on Friday and indicated that 2023 fourth-round draft pick Aidan O'Connell has an early advantage over journeyman Gardner Minshew regarding a quarterback competition that's expected to last through at least a portion of the preseason. 

"Aidan's earned the right to go out there and earn the first snap," Pierce explained, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. "What he's done this offseason -- changing his body, his work ethic, being here every day, blocking out the outside noise. He's not worried about anything. I'm excited."

Pierce was serving as the Raiders' interim head coach when he first named O’Connell his full-time QB1 this past November. In total, the 25-year-old went 5-5 as a starter but didn't play well enough to stop the Raiders from exploring a possible trade that would've involved the club moving up from the 13th overall pick in this year's draft for a quarterback. 

The Raiders reportedly "would have considered" drafting Washington Huskies signal-caller Michael Penix Jr. at selection No. 13, but the Atlanta Falcons grabbed him via the eighth choice.

As for Minshew, he signed a two-year contract with the Raiders in March. While he earned a Pro Bowl nod for his play with the Indianapolis Colts last season, he finds himself having to catch up to O’Connell this spring. 

"Aidan is already kind of taking the bull by the horn and he's leading the way, and Minshew's right there doing it as well," Pierce said. "...I think it's going to be a process. We're going to stick to the process."

Earlier this week, Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports named the Raiders among five teams "expected to be in the mix for a" quarterback next offseason. Specifically, Trapasso wrote that "the Raiders are essentially locks to be in the quarterback sweepstakes in the 2025 draft." 

Either O'Connell or Minshew will want to prove Trapasso wrong between now and January of next year. 

"Aidan has a certain thing mentally where he blocks out outside noise," Pierce added during his comments. "I'm sure he reads, like we all do, but when he comes to work, he's focused, he's prepared, he studies, he puts the time in."

It remains to be seen if Raiders general manager Tom Telesco ultimately will regret not making a draft-night splash to land Penix, Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy or Denver Broncos first-year signal-caller Bo Nix before they went off the board back on April 25. Pierce can only coach who is on his roster, but one wouldn't blame him if he's already thinking about scouting current college quarterbacks later this year.