The Raiders will be releasing QB Gardner Minshew when the new league year begins next week, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Minshew started nine of his 10 appearances in his lone season with the Raiders, throwing just 9 TDs vs. 10 INTs with a career-low 6.6 yards per attempt.
Pelissero: "Gardner Minshew has $3.16 million in fully guaranteed money left on the two-year, $25M deal he signed with Las Vegas last March. But another new Raiders regime is going another direction at QB."
Frankly, it's less surprising that the Raiders are releasing Minshew before the end of his contract than the contract was in the first place. Paying Minshew $12.5 million per year seemed goofy from the start.
The move will leave Aidan O'Connell as the top incumbent, but the Raiders have ranked among the most popular QB destinations in NFL mock drafts so far. They hold the sixth pick. We'll see, though, whether any available QB makes sense to them there.
Minshew remains a solid backup option. Before his Raiders deal, he landed with the Colts on a one-year $3.5 million pact and jumped in for 13 starts in place of the injured Anthony Richardson.
Before that, he backed up Jalen Hurts in Philly to close out his rookie deal.
Expect the 28-year-old (until mid-May) to land a backup gig somewhere. And keep him in mind as a waiver option for superflex leagues should the starter go down.
O'Connell could be a sneaky hold/stash in superflex dynasty leagues right now.
The Raiders likely don't consider him a long-term answer. But there's no guarantee they land their guy in the draft this season. And even if they draft a QB early, there's no guarantee he'll be ready to start.
Of course, Vegas could also be in the market for a veteran bridge QB such as Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, or Kirk Cousins.
It's ultimately not that intriguing a QB situation.
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