The Raiders’ quarterback competition will reach a checkpoint this week when Las Vegas takes on Minnesota to open preseason play.
On Monday, head coach Antonio Pierce told reporters in his press conference that he hasn’t decided who will take the first snap. But both Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew are set to receive plenty of time behind center on Saturday.
“We’ve still got two more true training camp practices, then we’ve got Wednesday, Thursday — that’s when we’ll start looking at what we want to do game-wise. But both quarterbacks are going to play a legit quarter,” Pierce said. “Who goes out first, who goes out second really doesn’t matter. They’ll get, hopefully, an equal amount of snaps and opportunities to showcase.”
Pierce noted that neither quarterback has really separated himself from the other at this point.
“I don’t think we [can] sit there and say somebody’s won yet,” Pierce said. “I think they’ve both had good moments. I got back, I think Gardner’s had several days now where he’s made some plays. But there’s also turnovers that show up that we don’t want to have happen as well. And when I look at Aidan, I see a guy that’s throwing the ball accurate, I see some drops by wide receivers. And I don’t think it’s just on the quarterbacks, I think overall our offensive play has to pick up. Sense of urgency — wide receivers, O-line, just all those guys.
“I go back to the very beginning in my opening statement of training camp, they’re going against a very good defense. And I think they’re feeling that and I think it’s good for our team, the competition part. But, obviously, somebody, again, has to step up. And we’re getting closer and closer. And obviously we’re getting into game-week mode a little bit as we get later in the week.”
