Gardner Minshew II is back at quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Starting Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell left Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams with a reported broken thumb after Las Vegas’ second possession. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday that O’Connell is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury, based on preliminary testing. He’s scheduled to undergo further evaluation on Tuesday.
Rams safety Kamren Curl made contact with O’Connell’s right hand as O’Connell followed through on a pass on third-and-21.
The play did not produce a first down. O’Connell was in pain as he and the Raiders’ offense left the field. Athletic trainers looked at O’Connell’s hand on the sideline before O’Connell left the field for the locker room. Minshew replaced O’Connell at QB on the ensuing Las Vegas possession.
Minshew finished the game that the Rams won, 20-15. He completed 15 of 34 passes for 154 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions in the loss.
A second-year veteran, O’Connell took over as the Raiders’ starting quarterback last week in a 32-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was O’Connell’s first start since he started 10 games as a rookie in 2023.
Minshew signed with the Raiders in the offseason and won the starting job in the preseason. But head coach Antonio Pierce benched him in a Week 5 loss to the Denver Broncos and named O’Connell as the starter ahead of last week’s game against the Steelers.
The Raiders fell to 2-5 with Sunday’s loss.
