The Las Vegas Raiders have signed Arizona Cardinals QB Desmond Ridder from their practice squad following injury to Aidan O’Connell.
The dumpster fire that is the Las Vegas Raiders continues to rage as newly anointed starting QB Aidan O’Connell has been placed on IR after breaking his thumb against the LA Rams. Gardner Minshew replaced him in the game, and on the depth chart.
With UDFA rookie Carter Bradley as the only other QB option in Las Vegas, the Raiders signed veteran Desmond Ridder away from the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad. Ridder was less than effective as a starter in Atlanta before being traded to Arizona for WR Rondale Moore.
Minshew is once again the Raiders’ starter after being demoted in the middle of Week 5’s game. O’Connell managed to play the second half of Week 5, all of the Week 6 loss to Pittsburgh, and then was knocked out of the Week 7 tilt against the Rams after breaking his thumb on a defenders helmet during a throw. Minshew is startable in only the deepest of leagues, and Ridder’s only upside is that he played with WR Tre Tucker in college at Cincinnati.
Brendon Booth | @bigbonededFFB
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew completed 20...
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew has had a ...
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew is coming ...
Las Vegas Head Coach Antonio Pierce announced that Gardner Minshew will begin the 2024 Raiders season as the starting QB.
Entering the Las Vegas Raiders’ pre-season, head coach Antonio Pierce made it clear that the team’s starting quarterback for 2024 would be a decision made following evaluation of incumbent Aidan O’Connell and free agent signing Gardner Minshew. After the 2nd pre-season game, Pierce announced that the Game 1 starter would be Minshew.
Minshew has been a career backup and consistently ranks in the bottom 3rd of QB play, but he did manage a winning record with the Indianapolis Colts as a fill-in starter for the injured Anthony Richardson. O’Connell also was a game over .500 after being named the starter to finish the 2023 season in week 9, replacing Jimmy Garoppolo, and was the only QB in the NFL without a turnover in the final 4 weeks of the season.
Minshew has a very generous ranking by Player Profiler as QB21 and actually did have two top 10 finishes in 2023. His 8 finishes outside of the top 20, however, allude to a QB who shouldn’t be seen as more than an emergency starter in the deepest of leagues.
Aidan O’Connell seems to be the QB to beat in the Las Vegas Raiders’ QB “competition.”
There are only a handful of teams in the NFL that seem to have a position battle at QB. Las Vegas is one of them. Aidan O’Connell is the incumbent being challenged by FA signing career backup, and definition of “replacement player”, Gardner Minshew. While Minshew definitely has the moustache1 in the QB room, O’Connell is the front-runner at the position of QB.
Before off-season activities began, HC Antonio Pierce stated that AOC had earned the opportunity to take first team snaps, which he has. Reports from camp were that O’Connell has progressed, his arm is strong and accurate, and he’s been making throws that have surprised the defense. Minshew on the other hand, has less power and accuracy in his arm. Looking at their stats from 2023, AOC also has a slight edge there. With their completion percentages basically identical, AOC had a higher TD rate and a lower INT rate, by way of the macro stats.
O’Connell finishing as a top 20 QB and being rosterable as a QB3 in superflex leagues is within the range of outcomes for 2024.
Gardner Minshew is taking his mustache to the Las Vegas Strip.
It happened within the course of a few minutes. The Las Vegas Raiders beat writers began reporting that the Raiders were in talks to trade for Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields. Among the Twitter chatter, the news dropped that the Raiders had signed Gardner Minshew.
Minshew signs a two-year deal for a reported $24 million. He will compete with Aidan O’Connell. For what position on the depth chart they will compete is unclear. Trading for Fields still remains a possibility. O’Connell appeared in 11 games for the Raiders in 2023 after being drafted in the 4th round. He took over as the starter after the firing of Josh McDaniels and led the team to a winning record. Minshew also began 2023 in a backup role in 2023 and became the Colts’ QB1.
The Raiders trading for Justin Fields would reunite him with former Bears OC Luke Getsy in a move that some speculate wouldn’t be great. Fields has been a leading rusher at the position, but struggles in the passing game. The Raiders could also make a trade up from the 13th pick to take a QB in the draft. Jayden Daniels and JJ McCarthy seem to be the most likely. With a QB room of Fields or a draft pick and Minshew/O’Connell, the Raiders would be in a position of a lot of flexibility should the starter get hurt or a draft pick need time.
Anthony Richardson is scheduled to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery to repair his right AC joint.
What looked like it was going to be a magical rookie season is officially over for Anthony Richardson before it really took off. The initial thought was hope that Richardson would be able to rehab his shoulder and return after taking 4-6 weeks off. Evidently, it was decided that the best option long-term would be to have the surgery early and begin rehabbing for 2024 as soon as possible.
There is no reason to believe that Anthony Richardson’s injury will have negative long-term consequences for his career, or his dynasty value. By opting for surgery now, the Colts will have the entire 2023 offseason with their QB1 instead of risking missed time with a delay. The injury to Anthony Richardson may open a small buy window in dynasty from a panicking GM.
Gardner Minshew will take the reigns as the Colts QB1 for the rest of the season, which seems to elevate the floors of the Colts’ pass catchers. Michael Pittman averages 12.5 targets, 9 receptions, 93 yards, and 16.75 PPR points in Minshew’s two starts, up from 8.75 targets, 5.5 receptions, 55 yards, and 13 PPR PPG. Second-fiddle Josh Downs also jumps from 5.25 targets, 3.75 receptions, 49.5 yards, and 8.7 PPR PPG all the way up to 10 targets, 6.5 receptions, 39 yards, and 13.4 PPG. Continue to start your Colts with confidence.
Anthony Richardson has been initially diagnosed with a Grade 3 AC joint sprain and is expected to be out for a month or more.
Unfortunately, it’s becoming all too common to read reports of Richardson dealing with injuries. The star rookie has shown flashes of brilliance when healthy, but has only played 100% of the offensive snaps for the Colts in one game this season. While his leg injury in week 1 and concussion in week 2 didn’t cause him to miss extended time, it sounds like this latest shoulder injury will cause him to miss multiple games and could even result in him being placed on short-term IR.
For Fantasy Managers who are rostering Richardson, we urged you to find an insurance policy for the physical rookie after his concussion in week 2. At this point, finding a suitable replacement QB for Richardson over the next month should be a top priority for any contending team. Gardner Minshew will be filling in for Richardson moving forward, but he isn’t an ideal replacement for fantasy purposes.
For the other Colts offensive players, this news means a slight bump in their value going forward. Minshew is more reliant on his arm than Richardson, and Michael Pittman has displayed strong chemistry with Minshew, along with rookie Josh Downs. Colts running backs Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss are also at less of a risk to have Minshew steal goal-line rushing opportunities, and they should be leaned on heavily to support the offense while Richardson is out.
