Raiders Forego Quarterback Competition, Name Aidan O’Connell New Starter

After weeks of speculation, the Las Vegas Raiders are finally making a change to their starting quarterback.

The Raiders have named Aidan O’Connell as their starting quarterback for their Week 6 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers in place of Gardner Minshew.

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce announced the decision to move forward with O’Connell on Wednesday.

“There was a quarterback battle early on,” Pierce said . … “At this point, I think it’s best to go with Aidan going forward. …

“I don’t plan on making switches at any time. When it’s time to make a switch, you make a switch.”

The Raiders are off to a slow start with a 2-3 record that includes a Week 5 loss to their AFC West rivals, the Denver Broncos. In the second half of that game, O’Connell replaced Minshew and completed 10 of 20 passes for 94 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception, and a 42.5 passer rating.

O’Connell said that he is approaching the starting role the same as he would if he were a backup.

“I definitely know that the job is fluid, and so I’m just trying to do my best, really every day,” O’Connell said. “Today, I’m focusing on today and not really thinking about any days in the future. I’ve got to work on what we’re working on today, try to get better, and take each day that way. And it’s hard to do. Your brain wants to go backward and wants to go forwards, but I think just focusing on the task at hand is the best thing I can do.”

Although Minshew’s overall numbers were great, completing a career-high 70.7 percent of his passes for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns in five games, his last outing was not pretty. He also threw five interceptions in four games, including a momentum-killing pick-six that was returned for 100 yards at Denver on Sunday.

O’Connell is no stranger to starting in the league. Last season, he replaced Jimmy Garoppolo for the last 10 games and did quite well. He recorded a 5-5 record, completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and had an 83.9 passer rating.

Pierce also added that he’s confident with the move due to how vocal O’Connell has been this season.

“Out of that shell, not looking like a rookie no more,” Pierce said. “Not acting like a rookie no more. He has a certain presence about himself … I love how he walks around the building.

“Really, what I respect the most, is when we named Gardner the starter, he said, ‘All right, I’m going to be the best scout team quarterback possible.’ And he was lighting our ass up. And every day he gives us the best look and he walks around with a smile on his face … the Baltimore game, he and Jackson Powers[-Johnson] were rallying the troops and pumping them up and he was just a great teammate. So, all those things factor into the decisions.”

O’Connell will look to lead Vegas to their third win of the year on Sunday.

More news: Saints Announce Rookie Spencer Rattler as Starting Quarterback

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