As the Las Vegas Raiders prepare for their Week 13 battle against the Kansas City Chiefs, quarterback news in Sin City comes in bunches. Gardner Minshew, who suffered a broken collarbone near the end of the team’s Week 12 loss, is set to be out for the remainder of the season. Conveniently, now-former Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has since become an available free agent; a situation the Raiders are monitoring. In the meantime, Aidan O’Connell has a status update himself.
With Minshew unavailable moving forward, there’s a spot now available under center.
Well, not quite.
Although Minshew will be absent for the remainder of the team’s ’24 campaign, Las Vegas is met with pleasant news. O’Connell, who took over as the starting signal caller in Week 6 before being the victim of a broken thumb in Week 7, has returned to action. Head coach Antonio Pierce is preparing to start his second-year quarterback in light of the situation.
On the season, O’Connell has completed 63.4% of his 82 passing attempts. He’s gained 455 yards through the air in addition to tossing two touchdowns and two interceptions. O’Connell’s 76.0 quarterback rating sits 5.0 lower than Minshew’s mark of 81.0.
There’s news on the Daniel Jones front, too.
Las Vegas Raiders: Gardner Minshew out, Aidan O’Connell in – Daniel Jones?
After receiving the news that his time as a New York Giant is nearing its end, Daniel Jones asked to expedite the process by becoming a free agent immediately. On Friday, the Giants granted his wish.
On Monday, the veteran signal caller cleared waivers, officially becoming an available free agent to sign.
Since the announcement of his impending waiving, the Raiders were pegged as a team to watch for Jones. It had been a situation that Las Vegas’ general manager Tom Telesco was monitoring, perhaps out of nothing more than due diligence. No matter the case, Telesco’s monitoring will no longer be necessary.
While it remains uncertain whether Jones will look to land with a new team as soon as possible or wait as he weighs his options, the 27-year-old has made one thing clear: The Las Vegas Raiders are not on the list of teams he’s considering.
For Jones, he prefers to sit behind a winning quarterback on a well-coached team to learn in preparation for his next opportunity instead of immediately competing for a starting job for the remainder of the ’24 season. And, in truth, it’s a mature decision for a quarterback still looking to tie his talents together at the NFL-level.
In the meanwhile, Desmond Ridder will remain available for the Raiders if needed.
*Top Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie / Imagn Images
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