Minshew Mania in Las Vegas! Almost sounds too good to be true, but the Raiders made it so on Monday by agreeing to terms on a two-year contract for journeyman quarterback Gardner Minshew.
After starting in place of an injured Anthony Richardson for Indianapolis this past season and damn near leading them to the playoffs, Minshew figures to have a leg up on incumbent Aidan O’Connell to be under center for the Raiders in Week 1. Minshew is already innately endearing as a player for his fun personality, sick flow, and gunslinger/oft-improvisational style of play.
Adding some extra spice to the mix of Minshew’s arrival in Las Vegas is the fact that Maxx Crosby poked fun at him last season during the Colts’ 23-20 victory on New Year’s Eve in Indy, repeatedly calling him “little a** boy”.
Minshew responded in the classy, wholesome way you’d expect him to, stating to his teammates on the sideline, “I’m little out here, but not always, you know?” And he gashed the Raiders a couple times to boot.
Use any cliché you desire about a slighter-framed QB without elite physical traits who manages to hang tough at the NFL level. Any of those “size of the fight in the dog”, or “got that dog in him” or “sneaky athletic” or “solid game manager” probably applies to what Gardner Minshew brings to the Raiders’ huddle. If X-factor, moxie and likability were actual attributes to measure on-field performance, Minshew would be indubitably elite.
The Raiders are smart to bring aboard somebody like Minshew. He’s the ultimate stopgap starter who no reasonable fan will give you sh*t for acquiring, even though all reasonable fans would agree he isn’t the long-term answer you’re hoping for.
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, picking 13th overall in the draft means it’d be an expensive move up to draft a highly-touted rookie. Maybe a QB falls into their lap at No. 13, but with former NFL linebacker Antonio Pierce now in as the full-time head coach, it’s clear the Raiders want to lean on their defense to contend in the AFC. That’s why they paid Dolphins star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins so handsomely to line up next to Crosby in the trenches.
Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert are in a different galaxy from Minshew when it comes to natural ability. He’ll be squaring off with them four times each season in the AFC West as long as he’s starting in Vegas. Something tells me the Raiders aren’t done adding to their QB room, but at least for now, they have a sage veteran who should have a whale of a time throwing the ball to the likes of Davante Adams.
Looks like a reunion between ex-Bears/new Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and Justin Fields is indeed not in the cards. The list of viable destinations for Fields is dwindling fast.
