2024 The NFL Draft He became the first player to have six quarterbacks selected in the first 12 picks, the Las Vegas Raiders, who finished 13th.
After two regular season games and the team’s full offseason program, head coach Antonio Pierce said he would decide to name Gardner Minshew, who signed a two-year, $15 million contract this offseason after playing five seasons. Jaguars (2019-2020), Eagles (2021-2022) and Colts (2023), or 2023 fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell as the Raiders’ starting quarterback to begin the 2024 regular season.
“Yes, we’ve seen enough reps,” Pierce said Saturday postgame. “Two games in, as we talked about, our guys didn’t play in the third game Pre-season gameOur starters, so we’ll sleep on it and decide in the next couple of days.”
It didn’t take long for the Bears to come to a conclusion after the Raiders’ 27-12 home loss against Dallas. He named Minshu as the starter for the 2024 regular season on Sunday. For NFL MediaHe has already told both the players his decision.
It came out as “experience”. Everything we saw in practice was shown in a few games. Pearce told the media About choosing Minshu over O’Connell.
“His [Minshew’s] Personality is contagious,” Pierce said Sunday. “His energy is contagious. His chief infectious disease. Things to improve: Leg pain in the pocket, staying on script. There’s something magical about him when he breaks into the pocket and does his thing, but when it’s the first or second read, we have to let it rip. He understands that. Most importantly, take care of the football.”
“Gardner gives us a great opportunity to get off to a fast start,” Pierce said.
Minshew started the contest and had four drives that resulted in a turnover on downs, a 29-yard field goal, a punt and a turnover on downs. He completed 10 of 21 passes for 95 yards.
O’Connell came off the bench in the second quarter and he led four possessions. They had a 27-yard field goal, a punt, a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Harrison Bryant (incomplete on a two-point conversion attempt) and a 69-yard interception return touchdown for the Cowboys.
O’Connell’s touchdown pass was no more than his 69-yard pick six to Dallas defensive back Kemon Hall in his head coach’s eyes. The interception return touchdown carried a lot of weight in the eyes of his defensive-minded head coach at Bears, who played nine NFL seasons at linebacker with Washington (2001-2004) and the New York Giants (2005-2009).
“I mean, everything,” Pearce said when asked how the Big Six weighed in Pearce’s assessment and O’Connell’s drive ended in a touchdown. “You can’t take the good and you can’t take the bad. I just wish things went well for both gentlemen. It didn’t happen. We’ll look at it and evaluate. Both had chances. Aidan had 20 tries. And Minshu had 21, so we’ll get at it, what’s our plan tonight. You saw that — let them show what they can do about it.”
Gardner Minshu Vs. Aidan O’Connell this preseason
|
Comp Att |
16-33 |
21-29 |
|
Go through the yards |
212 |
172 |
|
Pass Yards/Att |
6.4 |
5.9 |
|
TD-INT |
1-0 |
1-1 |
|
Proficiency assessment |
79.4 |
84.3 |
In the end, the decision reflected the selectors’ entire offseason performances.
“I go back to OTAs, minicamp, training camp, two preseason games. A lot of factors obviously, right?” Pierce said. “The command of the offense, the execution part. The efficiency. The turnovers are huge. It shows. Taking care of the football is going to be important for our team. I think sitting there. [general manager Tom] Telesco et al [offensive coordinator] Luke [Getsy] In the next couple of days, we’re going to figure out who’s going to jumpstart us and see where we want to be in the first quarter of the season.”
It was thought that O’Connell might have had the upper hand in the organization last season, but Pearce is assessing the situation with fresh eyes after 2023, which saw him become the interim head coach after the firing. By Josh McDaniels. Although he chose Minshew to start the season, he did not rule out O’Connell starting in 2024 or 2025.
“First and foremost, both of those men are professionals,” Pierce said. “The way they handled this rivalry resonated throughout our building, our staff and our team. They cheered each other on. They were good teammates. They brought out the best versions of each other in practices and games. I said, ‘Both guys, be ready.'” In the National Football League, Aiden is a young You don’t know the player, I think he’s going to play this year or next year, having played in the league for a couple of years, so that’s good for Aidan.
Neither quarterback made the decision any easier for the Bears. Eventually, Minshu got his first crack.
