Breaking: Raiders Closing In On Deal To Sign 2-Time Champion QB As Starter

One of the problems that arose from the peculiar way the 2024 NFL draft transpired, if the Raiders signed Gardner Minshew to be a bridge quarterback, is that we have no notion to what Minshew will be a bridge. That’s because the only players on the team’s current depth chart with the potential to start in Las Vegas are Minshew and Aidan O’Connell, the starter from the previous season.

I apologize to Carter Bradley, of course. He was an undrafted free agent when he joined with the organization, and while he may make the practice squad, his chances of playing in the NFL this season are slim.

Thus, Minshew and O’Connell will be involved, and then what? There is always the NFL draft in 2025, albeit it is not anticipated to have quite the talent level of the previous year, when quarterbacks were selected with six—six!—of the first twelve picks. Since neither Bo Nix nor Michael Penix Jr. were still alive at that moment, we will never know if the Raiders would have selected one of them at No. 13.

Critics of the Raiders for passing up a quarterback in 2024 are justified—until you consider the composition of the first-round selection committee.

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Carson Beck, 2024 Heisman Winner?

There’s also 2025 to consider. The Raiders do address the quarterback position for the upcoming season at this point, according to The 33rd Team, in a move that the website acknowledges as premature. “Way-Too-Early 2025 NFL Mock Draft: Who Is Next Year’s Top QB?” predicts that Carson Beck, a standout quarterback from Georgia, will be selected by the Raiders.

“Carson Beck got hot down the stretch for Georgia, and everything points to him being one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft,” the website’s Marcus Mosher said. He averaged 9.5 yards per attempt and completed over 72% of his throws in his first full season as a starter. It will be interesting to watch his growth throughout the 2024 campaign.

By any measure, Beck is not a young person. He has spent the last four years hanging around Athens, where he was a teammate of Raiders star running back Zamir White and earned playing time on the Bulldogs’ two national championship squads.

He is the early favorite to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy after throwing for 3,491 yards and 24 touchdowns against just six interceptions in 14 games previous season.

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Raiders QBs Can Be Conservative and Win

Minshew and O’Connell, who both have the potential to be good enough to lead the team to the playoffs after a strong finish to the previous season demonstrated that this squad can win with both a potent running attack and defense, will hold down the fort for the Raiders in the meantime.

However, Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers are the group’s key receivers. Highlights from the passing game would be desirable. O’Connell had a fantastic performance in Week 16, throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns against no interceptions, likely the greatest game of his rookie campaign. However, it is still early to say whether or not he can be that person.

Of course, on the other side of that game was Minshew, who played for the Colts and led a conservative offensive approach—he completed 15 of 23 throws for 224 yards and a touchdown, allowing running back Jonathan Taylor (93 yards) to do the majority of the work.

Minshew won the game, which effectively ended the Raiders’ postseason hopes. However, he is now a Raider, and his conservative approach is acceptable as long as there are Ws in the end.