The biggest move the Raiders made of the offseason was locking up Christian Wilkins to a long-term deal. Pairing him with Maxx Crosby for the foreseeable future should be a ton of fun to watch in Las Vegas.
But one move that has gone under the radar has been the signing of Gardner Minshew. As of now, there is a very good chance that Minshew will be the Raiders’ opening-day quarterback. While Minshew could prove to be an upgrade over Aidan O’Connell, it doesn’t move the needle enough to make the Raiders serious contenders in the AFC.
In a recent article by Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus, he wrote about the addition of Minshew for the Raiders. In the piece, he explains why the Raiders might have overpaid for the journeyman quarterback. Here is a snippet of his thoughts on the move:
The Raiders get a respectable bridge starter in the fold but need to actually add the other end of the bridge, with the No. 13 pick currently burning a hole in their pocket. They’ll be battling the No. 11 overall pick Minnesota Vikings and No. 12 overall pick Denver Broncos to move up for a quarterback, it appears.
Nonetheless, Minshew salvaged the Colts’ season and earned this contract despite his capped ceiling. At the end of the day, we’re left wondering if the Raiders could have signed another comparable bridge option for less money.
PFF projected that Minshew would earn a deal of around $8M a year, which is quite a bit less than what the Raiders ultimately paid. But they had to get an upgrade at quarterback, at least heading into the draft.
The Raiders might have overpaid Minshew this offseason, but they didn’t have a choice after releasing Jimmy Garoppolo. Unfortunately, that’s just how free agency works.
