Aidan O'Connell opens up about competing with Gardner Minshew for Raiders' QB1

Aidan O'Connell received an opportunity to be the Las Vegas Raiders' starting quarterback during his rookie season last year following another Jimmy Garoppolo injury. While he turned in a respectable effort, he apparently failed to lock in his potential spot as their long-term solution at quarterback.

The Raiders were in the market to add another quarterback during the offseason. Instead of selecting one during the 2024 NFL draft, they signed Gardner Minshew in free agency. It's unclear at this point who will be named as their starter for Week 1 as Minshew and O'Connell appear to be competing for the job during the offseason.

O'Connell discussed the situation during an appearance on "The Rush" podcast with Raiders teammate Maxx Crosby:

"Obviously we're trying to compete with each other. There' competition every day in eerything that we do, but it's also like at the end of the day, there's mutual respect. I mean, my story's crazy, his story's crazy too, you know from what he came from and his experience and what he's been able to carve out in the NFL for himself and the career he's had." (22:32)

O'Connell added:

"So really there's nothing but respect both ways for guys that have done it the hard way. To be able to see him do that, I was a big fan of him long before I met him because I heard his story... crazy stories about him and stuff. So it's been good to get to know him." (22:54)

Neither Aidan O'Connell nor Gardner Minshew were necessarily highly-rated prospects, but both of them have worked their way into starting roles from back-up positions. This creates an intriguing quarterback competition ahead of the 2024 NFL season. Head coach Antonio Pierce will have a crucial decision to make between the two of them.

Raiders OC Luke Getsy comments on Aidan O'Connell vs. Gardner Minshew QB battle

Luke Getsy

The Las Vegas Raiders made a change to their offensive coordinator position ahead of the 2024 NFL season when they hired Luke Getsy to serve under Antonio Pierce. One of the biggest situations he will have to monitor during the offseason is the close quarterback competition between Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew.

Getsy recently told Pro Football Talk that they are at the "beginning stages" of evaluating their options to determine their eventual starting quarterback. He added that it will be a "long process" and a decision between O'Connell and Minshew is unlikely to come until much later in the offseason.