The Las Vegas Raiders will have Gardner Minshew under center when they open the NFL regular season Sept. 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Head coach Antonio Pierce announced Sunday that the sixth-year veteran beat out Aidan O’Connell for the starting job.
Minshew took over as the Indianapolis Colts starter in Week 5 last year when starter Anthony Richardson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Minshew went on to throw for a career-high 3,305 yards, completing 62.2% of his passes for 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also rushed for three touchdowns.
With Richardson healthy again, Minshew agreed to a two-year, $25 million deal with the Raiders this offseason.
O’Connell, a fourth-round draft pick last year, began the season as the Raiders’ No. 3 quarterback, but ended up starting 10 games as a rookie in place of Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer.
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However, a pick-six at the start of the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s preseason loss to the Dallas Cowboys likely sealed O’Connell’s fate.
‘I wish it had ended well for both gentlemen, and it just didn’t,’ Pierce told reporters in making the announcement. ‘They both had opportunities.’
This will be the first time in his NFL career that Minshew has begun the season as his team’s starting quarterback.
