COSTA MESA, Calif. – Maybe the big decision looming for Raiders coach Antonio Pierce to determine the winner of a well, less-filling quarterback competition, isn’t so complicated.
Just listen to the participants.
As Gardner Minshew II put it following a camp practice this week: “The big thing, for whoever’s out there, we’ve got to take care of the ball.”
Aidan O’Connell, mindful that the recipe includes complementing a stiff defensive unit, expressed it as such: “It’s the quarterback’s job to take care of the ball in any sense, whether your defense is really good or whether it’s not.”
Take care of the football.
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That’s easier said than done, which was demonstrated during one of the final sessions of the California portion of the Raiders camp, when Minshew and O’Connell combined for four turnovers.
Sure, stuff happens. It was just practice. Yet this came after the quarterbacks combined for three picks during a scrimmage the previous Saturday.
During Tuesday’s practice, O’Connell threw an interception on a telegraphed throw during a three-on-three drill, which is so rare. A few minutes later, Minshew was picked while attempting to squeeze a throw into traffic to connect with a seam route.
He knows.
“If you win the turnover battle, you win 70 to 75% of your games,” said Minshew, a gunslinger with his fourth team as he heads into his sixth NFL season.
It’s no wonder that Pierce, in his first season on the job after finishing out last season as the interim coach, is in no rush to make the call. It is hardly the most enticing quarterback competition, pitting a young classic dropback passer in O’Connell versus a journeyman, Minshew, who can use his feet to extend plays.
No, don’t call it a classic competition. Instead, call it a dilemma.
Earlier in the week, Pierce said that neither quarterback had established himself as the clear frontrunner. On Wednesday, as the Raiders were on the verge of closing out their camp and prepared for a trip to Minnesota to open the preseason, Pierce was just as adamant when asked for an update.
“Status quo,” grumbled Pierce, a former NFL linebacker.
As of Thursday, Pierce wouldn’t declare which quarterback would start the preseason opener against the Vikings, and the depth chart released by the team didn’t provide any clues, either. The first team quarterback was listed as a “slash” situation with Minshew and O’Connell (whom Pierce stuck with as a rookie last season after replacing Josh McDaniels as coach) listed with the first team.
Pierce has known all along that the job wouldn’t be won solely on the practice field and behind the scenes in the meetings. With new coordinator Luke Getsy installing a system that leans heavily on play-action passes, Pierce wants to see the quarterbacks going full-speed in the stadiums, so to speak.
Interestingly, neither quarterback declared that the preseason performances might be the ultimate swing factor – and they both could be wrong in that thinking, if the battle for the job is as close as Pierce suggests, and if they don’t protect the football.
“I’m not sure how they’re going to go about doing that,” said O’Connell, a Purdue product drafted in the fourth round in 2023. “It’s really not my decision. Just trying to take it day by day. That’s what it takes to play your best ball.”
Minshew had a similar response when asked how he sensed the preseason would be a factor for determining the job.
“I have no clue, man,” he said. “That’s not my decision.”
Pierce, though, makes no bones about what he needs to see from his quarterbacks during the three preseason games, beginning on Saturday afternoon. Although he hasn’t revealed who will start, Pierce plans to play O’Connell and Minshew for one quarter each during the first half. First-year pro Anthony Brown and rookie Carter Bradley will likely split the reps in the second half.
“This preseason game will be very telling,” Pierce said of the O’Connell-Minshew battle. “I want to see these guys take care of the ball, manage the team, take care of situational football.”
In the end, it’s possible that the winner of the job might be a winner by default. That’s what happens when neither quarterback blows away the competition. Pierce’s hand might be forced to take the safest pick – i.e. the quarterback less prone to make game-swinging errors that puts the defense in a bind.
Pierce earned his shot to keep the job by not only going 5-4 last season after replacing McDaniels, but also in the manner in which he injected a new energy and passion into the team. Now he seeks to add layers to such a culture while envisioning a hard-nosed brand of football. To compete in an AFC West division dominated by the Chiefs for several years, Pierce wants the Raiders to complement a potent defense with a physical offense that can use its running game to wear down opponents and enable a play-action passing game. The premium on protecting the football is essential for that recipe to work.
And the recipe doesn’t include flip-flopping on the quarterback.
“When we make a decision, that’s going to be our quarterback,” Pierce said.
Someone asked Pierce what he’s learned about being a head coach, given the experience as an interim, the offseason sessions and about a dozen practices in running his first camp.
“Patience,” Pierce responded.
No doubt, he needs it to draw on for the big quarterback decision.
“Don’t rush decisions,” he added. “Don’t be emotional, because you’d make a lot of bad decisions.”
In other words, when it comes to settling on a quarterback, it hasn’t happened yet.
