Raiders QB competition scheduled to carry over into preseason opener

Neither Gardner Minshew nor Aidan O'Connell have pulled away in a tight battle for the Raiders starting quarterback job, but Las Vegas hopes a leader emerges in the preseason.

On Monday, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said each QB is slated to play one quarter in Saturday's preseason matchup against the Minnesota Vikings but wouldn't announce a starter.

"We've still got two more true training camp practices, then we've got Wednesday, Thursday and then that's when we'll start looking at what we want to do game-wise," Pierce told reporters . "Like I said, both quarterbacks are gonna play a legit quarter. Who goes out first and who goes out second really doesn't matter. [They will] get hopefully an equal amount of snaps and opportunity to showcase."

O'Connell and Minshew have split reps with the first-team offense throughout training camp. While both QBs have struggled, Minshew made some headway during the team's scrimmage this past Saturday.

The Athletic's Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur reported Minshew threw two touchdown passes, including a 20-yarder to tight end Harrison Bryant, and one interception. O'Connell, meanwhile, threw two picks and no TDs. Although Minshew looked solid in the scrimmage, it appears that wasn't enough to convince Pierce he's the better option.

"No, I don't think we could sit there and say somebody's won yet," Pierce said. "I think Gardner's had several days now where he's made some plays, but there's also some turnovers that show up that we don't want to have happen, as well. Again, when I look at Aidan, I see a guy that's throwing the ball accurate, I see some drops by our wide receivers."

Pierce may need more time before deciding whether O'Connell or Minshew receives the starting nod. The competition may last throughout the preseason until one of the QBs separates themselves.