HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew is out for the rest of the season with a broken collarbone, coach Antonio Pierce said Monday.
Minshew was injured late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 29-19 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Pierce will have to decide whether Aidan O'Connell or Desmond Ridder will start Friday's game at Kansas City.
The Raiders, who have lost seven consecutive games to fall to 2-9, could use a spark. Minshew's grip on the starting job was tenuous even before he was injured. He threw 10 interceptions to just nine touchdown passes this season and lost four fumbles.
So it's possible the coaching staff would have eventually turned to O'Connell or Ridder.
O'Connell has been on injured reserve with a broken thumb but was designated to return to practice Monday. That gives the Raiders a three-week window to decide when to activate him. Until that time, O'Connell will not count against the roster.
Having a short week complicates matters. Pierce said there wouldn't be any typical practices as a result, but there would be ways to gauge whether O'Connell is ready to go. Pierce said he would make sure O'Connell is able to grip the ball without pain.
“Putting a player out there who's hurting or injured still, that's not going to benefit the player or our team,” Pierce said.
O'Connell started the last half of last season as a rookie, guiding the Raiders to a 5-4 record. He lost the starting job to Minshew in the preseason but got it back six games into the season. That's when he was injured a week later against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Raiders also could turn to Ridder, who replaced Minshew when he got hurt Sunday. Las Vegas signed Ridder off Arizona’s practice squad on Oct. 21. He started 13 games for Atlanta last season, passing for 2,836 yards and 12 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.
In relief of Minshew against the Broncos, Ridder completed 5 of 10 passes for 64 yards. He led the Raiders on a last-ditch drive, taking them to Denver's 1-yard line before the game ended.
“He's a competitor,” Pierce said. “Obviously, he was dealt a difficult hand. He was thrown in the fire with no reps, but he did move the ball downfield.”
The Raiders also could take a look at the newly available Daniel Jones, though Pierce threw some water on the idea, calling it the “third and fourth” option. Pierce said, however, that general manager Tom Telesco would do due diligence.
Jones was released Friday by the New York Giants. He was the sixth pick in the 2019 NFL draft and went 24-44-1 as the starter. The Giants signed Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract in March 2023.
DE Tyree Wilson is beginning to live up to his status as the No. 7 overall draft pick from 2023. He had a sack and two tackles for loss. After going through the early part of the season without a sack, Wilson has three in the past four games.
The Raiders scored a touchdown on just one of five trips to the red zone against Denver, settling for three field goals and having a game-ending series reach the 1-yard line. They had three such trips in the second quarter, scoring 13 points and entering halftime ahead 13-9. Las Vegas is tied for 25th in the league with just half its red-zone drives ending in TDs.
WR Jakobi Meyers had his best statistical game since the pandemic-interrupted 2020 season. He caught 10 passes for 121 yards. Meyers had 12 catches for 169 yards in 2020 for the New England Patriots against the New York Jets.
TE Brock Meyers has jumped into the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation, and the Broncos responded by sending different coverages at him. That included putting CB Pat Surtain II on Bowers. He caught just four passes on 10 targets for 38 yards. That could provide a roadmap for future opponents, but the extra attention also contributed to Meyers' big day.
There are questions about the readiness of RBs Alexander Mattison (ankle) and Zamir White (quadriceps) and CBs Nate Hobbs (ankle) and Jakorian Bennett (shoulder).
11 — The Raiders are the third team to trail by double digits at some point in each of their first 11 games of a season. The others were the 1986 Indianapolis Colts and 1972 Patriots. Pierce and then-Colts coach Rod Dowhower are the only coaches to have led a team through such a stretch. The Patriots fired John Mazur after nine games in the 1972 season.
The Raiders are the last opposing team to win at Kansas City, and now they get the chance to do it again when the teams face off on Black Friday.
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