Raiders Second-Year QB Looking to Gain Upper-Hand in QB Battle

After seeing new Las Vegas Raiders' quarterback Gardner Minshew take the majority of the snaps on Tuesday, second-year quarterback Aidan O'Connell took over the first-team reps on Wednesday, a promising sign for the hopeful starter.

Interestingly at this stage, neither quarterback has taken over the position battle to claim the starting role, with both seeing their share of struggles throughout the start of what's sure to be a long offseason battle for the starting job in Las Vegas.

The Athletic's Tashan Reed reported:

[Minshew and O'Connell] struggled to push the ball downfield, have had too many off-target throws and don't look to have their timing down. It's still early, but both quarterbacks have a long way to go.

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell (4) © Jay Biggerstaff | 2023 Dec 25

Though neither quarterback is coming out of the gates strongly, both are in a new system offensively, adjusting to new starters around them in the running back and receiver rooms and attempting to deal with the pressures that come with an NFL position battle.

Both quarterbacks offer unique styles when leading an offense, with Minshew holding the slight upper hand in terms of experience. With plenty of time left until the start of the regular season, each quarterback will look to maximize their reps to gain the upper hand and some momentum in the quarterback battle.