3 Worst Offseason Moves From the Chiefs' AFC West Rivals
3. Raiders Rolling with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell Under Center
As the old saying goes, "You don't know what you've got until it's gone." The Las Vegas Raiders learned that the hard way in 2023 when they moved on Derek Carr as their No. 1 QB, instead opting to roll the dice on a Jimmy Garoppolo-Aidan O'Connell tandem.
The Raiders cutting Carr last offseason was somewhat of a head-scratcher. Although his 63-79 record with the franchise wasn't the best, he was far from the NFL's worst quarterback. After all, he amassed 35,222 passing yards and 217 TDs (to 107 interceptions) across nine seasons with the Raiders and even made four Pro Bowls while finishing third in the 2016 NFL MVP voting.
It didn't take long for Las Vegas to regret moving on from Carr. O'Connell and Garoppolo struggled to produce results, throwing a combined 3,423 passing yards, 19 TDs, and 16 INTs. Meanwhile, Carr racked up 3,878 yards and 25 TDs to eight INTs in his first season with the New Orleans Saints.
Once this offseason came around, the Raiders decided they had enough of Garoppolo, releasing him following his violation of the NFL's PED policy. They then opted to sign journeyman QB Gardner Minshew to a two-year, $25 million contract to compete with O'Connell for the QB1 role.
Minshew was decent for the Indianapolis Colts last year, but I don't know if he's $12.5-million-per-year-decent. He's only made double-digit starts twice over the last five years and likely wouldn't have even started a 2023 contest if it wasn't for Anthony Richardson's season-ending injury.
With a record of 9-16 since the beginning of the 2020 season, it's hard to imagine Minshew moving the needle that much for the Raiders. His play will be serviceable for a middle-of-the-road team, but it won't be enough to help dethrone the Chiefs as AFC West kings.
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