Aidan O’Connell replaces Gardner Minshew as the Raiders’ starting quarterback vs. Steelers

Aidan O’Connell will start at quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6 in place of previous starter Gardner Minshew.

Head coach Antonio Pierce announced the decision on Wednesday. The Raiders make the move after a 2-3 start and a Week 5 loss to AFC West rival Denver Broncos.

Pierce didn’t provide many details when asked why he made this decision.

O’Connell started 10 games for the Raiders as a rookie last season, while Pierce was the team’s interim head coach. He completed 62.1% of his passes for 201.6 yards per game with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Raiders went 5-5 in the games O’Connell started.

The Raiders signed Minshew to a two-year, $25 million contract this offseason after he previously served as a backup quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. Minshew is a sixth-year NFL veteran who joined the Raiders with 37 games of experience as an NFL starter for three different teams.

Pierce named Minshew as the starting quarterback after a job competition in preseason and training camp.

“The operation, the processing – just everything we saw in practice,” Pierce said in August when Minshew won the job. “Some of it came out in the games. There are many things we can get better at. I don’t think anything here is a finished product.

“But based on where we want to go in the first quarter of the season, we feel like Gardner gives us the best opportunity.”

This is a current news item that will be updated.