Gardner Minshew II started this season as the Las Vegas Raiders’ starting quarterback, and after five disappointing games, he was benched in favor of Aidan O’Connell.
He returned to the controls of their offense in Week 7 when O’Connell suffered a fractured thumb, and against the Kansas City Chiefs this past Sunday, he completed 24 of 30 pass attempts and threw two touchdown passes and no interceptions in a 27-20 loss.
Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had a clear message on the “Let’s Go!” podcast for Minshew as far as his viability as a QB1 moving forward — “Ball security is job security.”
Belichick on Gardner Minshew: “Ball security is job security.”
Hear Bill Belichick, @CrosbyMaxx, and @JimGrayOfficial right now on an all-new Let’s Go!
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— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) October 30, 2024
So far this season, Minshew has thrown six touchdown passes, but he has eight interceptions, and for his career, he has a 4.0 percent interception rate, which is unusually high.
Last season, in 17 games with the Indianapolis Colts, he threw 15 touchdown passes but had nine interceptions and a whopping eight fumbles.
Some people feel the Raiders may be starting a rebuild or at least a retooling process after trading star wide receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets earlier this month.
They have been something of a laughingstock for some 20 years, and if they are to make the playoffs for only the third time since 2002 any time soon, they will have to find a way to get a legitimate starting quarterback.
With a 2-6 record right now, perhaps they will finish with a record that will be bad enough to give them a shot at drafting a solid signal-caller in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Bill Belichick Doesn’t Hold Back His Thoughts About Maxx Crosby
