'Minshew Mania' Officially Hits Las Vegas As Gardner Named Raiders Starting QB

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Get ready, Las Vegas, because "Minshew Mania" is officially coming to your city! Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce officially named Gardner Minshew as the team's starting quarterback on Sunday. 

Minshew beat second-year quarterback Aidan O'Connell, who the team drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft and who started 10 games for the Raiders last season. 

But rather than go with the young player, who completed 62% of his passes in 2023-24 and had a mediocre 12-7 TD-INT ratio, the team elected to go with the veteran Minshew. 

Minshew is now on his fourth team since entering the league in 2019. He played well in his two seasons in Jacksonville, but the Jaguars drafted Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 pick in 2021. 

Journeyman NFL quarterback Gardner Minshew was officially named the starting quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Journeyman NFL quarterback Gardner Minshew was officially named the starting quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders.

(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Minshew went to Philadelphia to back up Jalen Hurts and then to Indianapolis to back up Anthony Richardson. Richardson missed the majority of his rookie season, so Minshew continued to see time on the field. 

He threw for 3,000 yards last season, and wanted an opportunity to start since Richardson will reclaim starting duties in Indianapolis. 

Well, it looks like Minshew found exactly the right landing spot and beat O'Connell during training camp and the preseason.

It's a rough outcome for O'Connell, who the team had hoped might prove to be a great value pick in the middle rounds of the NFL Draft. 

Clearly, though, the team doesn't believe O'Connell is the long-term answer at quarterback. They don't think Minshew is either, just like the other teams he played for didn't, but he's the better option to win games this season. 

However, expect the Raiders to look for a quarterback again in next year's NFL Draft. 

Derek Carr started for the team from 2014-2022 before the franchise decided to move on. 

So, it might be better for the Raiders, long-term, to not win a ton of games this season and put themselves in position to get a top quarterback in the 2025 draft. 

DraftKings has the Las Vegas win total over/under at 6.5. It might be a good time to hit that under and hope the team goes all in trying to set itself up for next season. 

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to OutKick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named "Brady" because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.