Report: Las Vegas Raiders QBs Couldn’t Hit Open WRs At Practice This Spring

Report: Las Vegas Raiders QBs Couldn’t Hit Open WRs At Practice This Spring

A new report on what happened during the Las Vegas Raiders practices this spring is even more troubling for fans hoping for competent quarterback play in the upcoming season. The Raiders are set to have a quarterback battle between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell during training camp.

Minshew is the betting favorite to win the QB1 job in Week 1. However, reports coming out earlier this spring were worrisome for an offense that either needs to take advantage of Davante Adams’ expensive contract or trade him before his deal becomes “untenable” next year.

The Las Vegas Raiders had a concerning spring

As previously discussed on GH, Tashan Reed with The Athletic reported that the offense had numerous issues this spring as they took their first reps in new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s system.

Reed called the Raiders’ quarterback situation “concerning” before training camp:

“Both quarterbacks struggled to push the ball downfield, had too many off-target throws and frequently put the ball in harm’s way. The Raiders will need better than that to avoid the offense being a liability yet again. The good news is there’s still plenty of time for O’Connell and Minshew to get better in training camp before the season arrives.”

The Raiders have plenty of weapons for Minshew and O’Connell to target. Unfortunately, most of the problems appear to be on the quarterbacks and maybe offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. They’ll have to make a giant leap in the preseason if the Raiders have any chance of surviving a brutal AFC West.

Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew didn’t look sharp

Vic Tafur with The Athletic provided a few more details about how bad the quarterback situation was during OTAs. Tafur thinks the quarterback battle will come down to who performs best during the Raiders’ three preseason games. Minshew does better at extending plays, but O’Connell has the momentum heading into training camp later this month.

However, they struggled to hit open targets at practice:

Actually … neither Aidan O’Connell nor Gardner Minshew II looked very sharp at last month’s minicamp. On one hand, the Raiders are installing a new offense so growing pains are expected. On the other hand, there is no hard contact and the defense is not going full speed, so it shouldn’t be hard to hit an open receiver.

O’Connell had some momentum going during the team’s spring workouts, and maybe he can pick that up again when training camp starts. He can make all the throws and has a little swagger to him this year. I don’t think the Raiders would’ve given Minshew $15 million guaranteed in March if they knew O’Connell was going to get in better shape and have a real air of confidence this spring. But they did, so we’re going to battle.

Ouch.

Not an easy fix

Getsy’s offense isn’t easy to learn, but hitting open targets isn’t an offensive coordinator’s job. Minshew and O’Connell will need to work on accuracy during the dead period. If they continue shooting blanks, the season will be long and painful for new head coach Antonio Pierce.

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