Feeling kind of bad for Gardner.

[AlwaysSpokanesFault]

What a shit show the Raiders are. I get that Minshew seems to have it together and is set for life, but man it must suck to have that much leadership instability around you. Starting games knowing they're itching to pull you at the half is ridiculous. I'm kind of hoping they fire everybody at the end of the season and he gets to move on to another team...just for his own sanity.

 

[cr8zyncalif]

There is always another NFL team looking for a journeyman QB who can do more than just hand the ball off or throw a quick slant or out pattern. I had hopes that Gardner might have finally drawn the long straw, but it does not look like he is playing with a full team, yet again.

 

[95coug]

At this point he's got basically nobody to throw to. Defenses can focus on Meyers and Bowers, and there's nobody else who's really a threat to move the ball. They also don't have a legitimate run threat, and their OL isn't very good. In other words, it's a QB nightmare all around. GM has had very little playing time with any real talent around him, and his current situation may be even worse than his rookie season with the Jaguars. At least then he had DJ Chark and Fournette in the backfield. That's not the headlines though...the headline is that Minshew was benched in favor of someone who was on a practice squad 2 weeks ago.

The silver lining is that he's only guaranteed $3.2M for 2025, so he's a pretty affordable veteran option. That salary could balloon up to $11.8M, I assume based on participation & performance incentives, but if he hits those that's still not a huge price tag for a starting QB.

Looking into my crystal ball, it's hard to imagine Pierce staying on in LA. He's been terrible, and seems to be getting worse. Seems like they've already started positioning for the draft too, so maybe Davis is already angling toward drafting a new QB (Cam Ward as a Raider, anyone?).

It would make some sense for them to keep him around as a cheap veteran, but that depends on what a new coach thinks. Might also make sense to see what they could get for him in the draft. Probably not a lot, but I suspect that the Colts, Browns, Jets, Titans, Seahawks, and Saints are all going to be looking for backup QB help this year. They also may not be in position to get a starter in the draft. A veteran presence that only costs $3M might be pretty attractive.

 

[AlwaysSpokanesFault]

Cam Ward as a rookie QB with the Raiders would be a worse-case scenario for him. I like Cam, but he has some glaring flaws that we all know can only be fixed with a good group of wideouts. If the Raiders pursue, I hope he has the right people around him to guide him away safely.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Cam Ward as a rookie QB with the Raiders would be a worse-case scenario for him. I like Cam, but he has some glaring flaws that we all know can only be fixed with a good group of wideouts. If the Raiders pursue, I hope he has the right people around him to guide him away safely.

Well the Raider's coach who accused players of making "business decisions" just made a "business decision." Tell me again who the problem is, coach.

 

[95coug]

Cam Ward as a rookie QB with the Raiders would be a worse-case scenario for him. I like Cam, but he has some glaring flaws that we all know can only be fixed with a good group of wideouts. If the Raiders pursue, I hope he has the right people around him to guide him away safely.

I'd say his flaws are better addressed by a good OL than a good group of wideouts. Neither of which the Raiders have.

 

[Loyal Coug1]

I'd say his flaws are better addressed by a good OL than a good group of wideouts. Neither of which the Raiders have.

Ditto on all the posts above. Minshew has f-ed it up several times with his ints and fumbles, but trying to throw with the DL in your face every down has been a little rough. I'm just happy that he got that $15M guaranteed salary. He's a smart guy, I'm sure he has/is investing well and not blowing it on bling, fancy cars, hookers, etc. And yeah, he can probably have a continuing long career as a solid backup if he so chooses.

 

[cougarhawk1]

GM is still really accurate and can win, he’s had so many games with a high completion %. Indy could have built around him, AR is horrible. NFL is starting to look more rigged and scripted every time I watch it.

 

[COCoug]

Ditto on all the posts above. Minshew has f-ed it up several times with his ints and fumbles, but trying to throw with the DL in your face every down has been a little rough.

Hopefully he won't get too shell shocked from the sacks, hurries, and knock-downs. Always playing from behind, no running game, no OL. These QB's turn into tackling dummies and some never seem to get their mojo back.

 

[425cougfan]

I've probably written as much as anyone about how Gardner has been screwed at every stop and underestimated. Jacksonville was a shitshow. He outplayed Foles, who had a big deal, and the other journeyman they had at the time, despite that club being an even bigger shitshow than the Raiders. He also didn't get a great shot in Indy since they wanted to go to Richardson. Similar situation. And now the Vegas situation is bullshit again. Similar to Jacksonville but with an idiotic, unstable head coach who had a run with the other guy (O'Connell) as the interim, and where he yet again has a shitty OL and general lack of weapons on offense other than a good rookie tight end.

All that said ... he had a pretty decent shot when Hurts was out in Philly and, as I recall, shit the bed. It was unfortunate, since especially at that time, I thought he could demonstrate he was a legit mid-grade starter who could win in the NFL with some actual talent around him.

So it's a mixed picture to a slight extent. He constantly has been screwed, and he has done a lot better in some shitty situations than others have, but while he's a guy I'll always root for, it sucked not seeing him grab the one limited opportunity he had with a decent situation.

 

[95coug]

I've probably written as much as anyone about how Gardner has been screwed at every stop and underestimated. Jacksonville was a shitshow. He outplayed Foles, who had a big deal, and the other journeyman they had at the time, despite that club being an even bigger shitshow than the Raiders. He also didn't get a great shot in Indy since they wanted to go to Richardson. Similar situation. And now the Vegas situation is bullshit again. Similar to Jacksonville but with an idiotic, unstable head coach who had a run with the other guy (O'Connell) as the interim, and where he yet again has a shitty OL and general lack of weapons on offense other than a good rookie tight end.

All that said ... he had a pretty decent shot when Hurts was out in Philly and, as I recall, shit the bed. It was unfortunate, since especially at that time, I thought he could demonstrate he was a legit mid-grade starter who could win in the NFL with some actual talent around him.

So it's a mixed picture to a slight extent. He constantly has been screwed, and he has done a lot better in some shitty situations than others have, but while he's a guy I'll always root for, it sucked not seeing him grab the one limited opportunity he had with a decent situation.

Actually, in week 13 of 2021 he went out and posted a perfect passer rating through the first half, and for the game went 20/25 for 242 yards and 2 TDs, and won the game. Nick Siriani made it clear after the game that when Hurts was healthy, he was the starter...and he was. Minshew went back to the bench after only 1 game. He started their season finale again, the Eagles benched most of their starters and had players in COVID protocols, his numbers were mediocre, and they lost the game.

In 2022, he started their last 2 games, and played reasonably well...but threw 3 interceptions and they lost both games.

I think he's shown the ability to be a reliable "game manager" type QB when he's got talent around him. Probably not going to carry the team and win games on his own. But, the one time he was on a team with talent, they told him outright that they weren't going to give him a shot. The rest of his career, he's been on teams that had major deficiencies.

 

[425cougfan]

Actually, in week 13 of 2021 he went out and posted a perfect passer rating through the first half, and for the game went 20/25 for 242 yards and 2 TDs, and won the game. Nick Siriani made it clear after the game that when Hurts was healthy, he was the starter...and he was. Minshew went back to the bench after only 1 game. He started their season finale again, the Eagles benched most of their starters and had players in COVID protocols, his numbers were mediocre, and they lost the game.

In 2022, he started their last 2 games, and played reasonably well...but threw 3 interceptions and they lost both games.

I think he's shown the ability to be a reliable "game manager" type QB when he's got talent around him. Probably not going to carry the team and win games on his own. But, the one time he was on a team with talent, they told him outright that they weren't going to give him a shot. The rest of his career, he's been on teams that had major deficiencies.

Thanks for looking that up ... really good point on that 2021 game. I had the others in mind but had forgotten about that good performance he had. I agree with your last paragraph.