Raiders' Gardner Minshew-Aidan O'Connell Week 4 Postgame Meeting 'Says a Lot'

It is virtually impossible, at this point, to make any sense of the Raiders. They looked as tough as a wet noodle against the Chargers to open the season, then went to Baltimore and pulled out a win over the Super Bowl-hopeful Ravens. They played the sad-sack Panthers in Week 3 at home, and were trounced. On Sunday, they faced Cleveland at home and bounced back with a win.

It is a strange path to 2-2 for Las Vegas, but the Raiders sitting at .500 after four games is no surprise.

One of the questions that continues to be raised around the team is the question that has dominated for more than a year now: Who is the Raiders’ long-term quarterback? Aidan O’Connell was serviceable last season as a rookie, but the team signed Gardner Minshew in March to a two-year, $25 million contract , though the team can wriggle out of the deal after this season.

Through four games, Minshew has thrown for 877 yards, which is 12 ^th in the NFL. His 88.7 quarterback rating is 19 ^th among starting quarterbacks. The so-so numbers have led many to call for O’Connell to replace him.

But one positive about the Minshew-O’Connell question, no doubt, has been the way the two have remained connected even as they’re competing for the same spot. That was evident after the Week 4 win, when cameras caught O’Connell seeking out Minshew immediately after the win over the Browns, the first Raider to greet him.

Logan Reever, a Las Vegas sports anchor for 8News, posted a video of the exchange on Twitter/X after the game .

He wrote: “Great shot we got after the win. First guy to greet Gardner Minshew - the guy he was in a QB competition with all summer in Aidan O'Connell. Says a lot about their relationship. Super cool. #Raiders ”