The Las Vegas Raiders have regained confidence in quarterback Gardner Minshew after he led the team to a miraculous victory over the Baltimore Ravens in week 2.
The veteran threw for 212 yards and a touchdown on a 72 percent completion rate in the second half against Baltimore, demonstrating his resilience and leadership in the face of adversity.
Although Minshew impressed last week and is starting to gain momentum, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report believes the former Indianapolis Colt shouldn’t get too comfortable in his starting role. On a list ranking the quarterbacks most likely to be benched after Carolina Panthers After replacing Bryce Young with Andy Dalton, Knox ranked Minshew fifth among the seven signal-callers he listed.
Here’s what Knox had to say about Minshew and the Raiders’ future at quarterback.
After Minshew overcame some early Week 2 struggles to help secure an upset win over the Baltimore Ravens, he may have already earned the trust of the locker room.
Minshew (77.5 completion percentage, 95.6 QB rating) is playing pretty well right now. If that changes, the Raiders likely won’t hesitate to turn to O’Connell and start looking at quarterbacks eligible for the 2025 draft.
It’s extremely unlikely that Minshew will do enough this season to establish himself as the Raiders’ franchise signal-caller, but the former Washington State standout is a much more viable option than Aidan O’Connell, who had a disappointing training camp and preseason.
Minshew isn’t the most exciting player, but he nearly led the Colts to the playoffs in 2023 and plays clean, efficient football. With Las Vegas boasting one of the best receiving corps in the NFL, led by Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and rookie tight end Brock Bowers, Minshew is primed for success this season.
With Minshew at the helm, the Raiders will face the aforementioned Panthers on Sunday in the home opener at Allegiant Stadium. With the Panthers bringing in a new signal-caller and Carolina struggling to play competent football, this will be a good opportunity for Minshew to further solidify his starting spot in 2024.
